Creating Realistic Drills with Wear & Tear Using 3ds Max & Substance 3D

Introduction

Hello everyone. My name is Abhishek Pareek. I’ve been in the game industry since 2013. Previously, I worked at 4A Games, and I’m currently active as a freelance artist. Over the years, I’ve contributed to multiple AAA titles in both full-time and freelance roles at studios including 4A Games, Exigent Game Art, Trace Studios, cView Studios, VOLTA, and more.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by video games. That early passion naturally evolved into a fulfilling career in game art.

Project & Goal

I got the project to make these two interactive drills. Within certain constraints, I was left to my discretion regarding the texturing style and overall approach. I opted for a realistic look, aiming for a carefully balanced level of dirt and wear, enough to convey usage and authenticity without making the assets appear overly messy.

Software

• 3ds Max 
• Marmoset Toolbag
• Substance 3D Painter
• Unreal Engine
• Photoshop
• PureRef

References & Ideas

First, I studied the asset to understand its functions and underlying mechanics. I then collected reference images from as many angles as possible to analyze the overall shape, proportions, and finer details. Alongside direct references, I also gathered images of similar assets to explore design variations, interesting surface features, and texture details. As I compiled this reference material, I continuously visualized the final asset in my mind with integrating distinctive elements discovered during the research process.

Modeling

Blockout is a crucial foundation for any asset to look appealing and function properly. I always prioritize getting the shapes right before moving on to further details. I start with a solid blockout, focusing on clean curves and strong silhouettes, while ensuring the model will be fully compatible with rigging, animation, and gameplay requirements.

It’s also essential to consider how the object will interact within the game environment – how it will be used, viewed, and experienced by the player.

After moving from the blockout to the high-poly stage, I make sure that each part of the model already feels like the right material, even in grayscale or with simple colors. For example, you should be able to tell the difference between leather and metal, even without adding any sculpted details; so use Booleans, chamfers, and supporting edges accordingly.

For complex modeling tasks, I incorporate 3ds Max, Plasticity, and ZBrush into my workflow.

Low Poly

Creating a clean and efficient low-poly model is a critical step in the asset pipeline. It’s important to pay close attention to curves, silhouettes, and proper edge distribution, knowing where needed and where not.

For these drills, I aimed to maintain a balanced low-poly budget, not overly dense as you might see in some personal projects, but optimized for practical use.

I use 3ds Max for my low-poly work, as it offers several modifiers like Optimize, ProOptimizer, and Retopology, etc. Additionally, the Freeform tools in the Ribbon palette are very handy when working with characters or organic shapes, allowing me to handle retopology without relying on external software.

Generally, I make my blockout by keeping in mind that I might use it as a base for my lowpoly.

Here is a small trick for low poly:

UVs & Baking

Good UV unwrapping is an important part of the process. Keeping proper UV checkers, maintaining correct UV orientation, managing texel density, careful UV seams with watching out for mesh shading, and laying out UVs properly and tightly – these are some practices to keep in mind.

For complex assets, I open the UVs first and keep the UV chunks of a part in groups with equal texel density, so later, while laying out, I have to pack those groups only. It helps me to use maximum space and saves time.

I use Maya, RizomUV, and 3ds Max for UV unwrapping. Since these assets weren’t very complex and were modeled in 3ds Max, I unwrapped them there only. 

For baking, I mostly use Marmoset. Proper layers and naming save the baking setup time as it’s imported with mesh in Marmoset. A tightly matched low poly with high poly gets you a nice bake with less shading.

I rarely need to edit my maps in Photoshop. I try to get everything right during the bake.

I generally bake Normal Map, AO Map, ID map, and Height Map (for tesselation) in Marmoset, and I bake the rest of the maps in Substance 3D Painter while texturing.

Texturing

Texturing is an exciting stage where we can bring creativity, observation skills, and technical knowledge together. It’s important to study the material – how it looks and feels, how it appears when new, and how it changes with age, use, and damage. Understanding the type of wear and tear it naturally gets, along with the art style required by the game or concept, are important points to follow.

To start, I create base materials with proper PBR values and the right surface feel, then gradually add more detail.

From the beginning, I aimed to keep these assets balanced and realistic, and I followed the same approach during texturing. I first built base materials with accurate values and height information, then added more detail using various alphas, techniques, anchor points, and Height Maps.

For masks, I generally create the base using generators with various Grunge Maps, and then use alphas along with manual painting, which I enjoy.

Here are the layers for stickers:

Here is the overall asset in the viewport:

Here are the rubber material details:

When we look at objects in real life, they often have fascinating details, including dirt and cool tiny particles, which I tried to achieve with these assets. Knowing where to add details and how much intensity to use is crucial. Striking the right balance helps make your asset look realistic without becoming cluttered or messy. It’s like cooking; using too much of any ingredient can overpower the dish and ruin its original flavor, rather than enhancing it.

While texturing, I regularly check the textures in Marmoset and then cross-check them in Unreal Engine at the end.

Rendering

I generally use Marmoset for rendering, but for these assets, I wanted to try the Iray renderer in Substance 3D Painter, so I rendered everything directly there. I experimented with several HDRI maps and settings, but eventually decided to stick with the default options. I found them good enough to produce nice results, as long as the textures are solid.

For a few renders, I added a wooden table and a piece of cardboard from Quixel assets for decoration.

In the render settings, I used the Viperlog color profile with a bit of contrast and exposure adjustment under Post Effects.

Here are the render settings along with a brief example of the Iray scene:

Conclusion

I received these drills as part of a freelance project, so I couldn’t approach them the same way I would a personal project. Still, I saw it as a challenge to achieve the best results possible within the given limitations.

I hope this breakdown and workflow help someone out there. Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Wishing you all the best. Have a great day!

Feel free to reach out by email, on LinkedIn, and ArtStation if you have any questions. Thanks again!

Abhishek Pareek, Senior 3D Artist