LogInSanjay talked to us about the ball pen project, explaining how, with texturing and lighting, they captured the micro surface details of the pen with the intention of showing the complexity of an everyday object.
Introduction
Hi, I'm Sanjay, a 3D Surfacing Artist. I entered the world of 3D art because of my passion for games and the dream of contributing to that industry. Over time, my focus evolved toward creating unique and realistic work that isn't just visually pleasing but also inspires others to push their own creative limits.
I owe a great deal of my foundation to my mentor, Krishna Babu, an exceptional Texturing Artist who taught me how an artist should perceive the work and helped me build a strong foundation, and Manoj Mohan, who taught me about consistency, patience, persistence to achieve certain benchmarks, and helped me to endure tough and pressuring work situations. Both of these great men's guidance, along with my collaborative work at Xentrix studio, gave me opportunities to contribute to projects for Netflix animated series, Nickelodeon productions, and other international clients.
Starting the Ball Pen Project
I am fascinated by everyday objects that people often overlook, things that may appear ordinary at first glance but reveal immense complexity upon closer inspection. The inspiration came from observing how, even something as common as a pen, could tell a story when presented with the right level of detail.
To capture this, I studied numerous macro photographs of pen tips and surfaces, analyzing how light interacts with scratches, ink residue, and the metal's subtle wear. This close observation provided the foundation for my approach.
Modeling
For this project, I used Maya as my primary tool for modeling and UV work. I focused on maintaining accuracy in forms while also optimizing the mesh for texturing. My workflow included: systematic UV unwrapping to ensure even distribution, stacking UVs with a higher texel density rather than going with a UDIM workflow, and strategic material separation to allow more flexibility in texturing. Time-saving techniques included using Maya's tool kit efficiently for symmetry, soft selection, and clean retopology, which helped maintain geometry precision while reducing unnecessary poly counts.
Texturing Workflow
The texturing was done in Substance 3D Painter, where I baked assets at 4K resolution with 4x supersampling for crisp maps and set the dilation width to 4 for minimizing seams. To build realism, I layered multiple passes focusing on subtle variations in Roughness, Specular Maps, and micro surface details. I paid close attention to fine elements like oxidized edges, roughness breakups, smudges, and ink residue to bring authenticity to the object.
The biggest challenge was figuring out how to showcase those details at a presentable scale without overwhelming the viewer. Balancing fidelity with presentation was the most delicate part of the process. My texturing philosophy is simple: the best results come from studying real-world references. Observing objects closely teaches you about the interaction of color, material properties, and environmental wear in a way that no preset or filter can replicate.
For the presentation, I relied on Marmoset Toolbag. My setup included an HDRI from Poly Haven as the base environment, combined with two omni lights that accentuated highlight burn spots and revealed fine surface details. The project took about two days of dedicated work from start to finish. The most enjoyable part was sculpting and presenting the ball tip, which contained the highest level of microscopic detail.
Conclusion
As for recommendations, I highly suggest that artists make a habit of capturing high-resolution reference images and studying macro photography. Additionally, online Substance 3D Painter breakdowns and Marmoset lighting tutorials are invaluable resources for anyone wanting to improve their texturing and presentation skills.