How to Sculpt Surface Damage and Wear on a Sci-Fi Prop

Introduction

Hi, my name is Dragoslav Vugdelija. I am a 3D Artist from Novi Sad, Serbia. Long before I even knew what 3D art was, I was drawn to art. I drew everything, from portraits to the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings. Looking back, epic fantasy and sci-fi were always what fascinated me the most. I was deeply impacted by comic books and movies. I began my career as a 3D Modeler, where I built a strong foundation in modeling, texturing, and rendering.

I later worked as a remote Character Artist on stylized games like Beyond the Steel Sky, and for the past five years I've specialized in realistic clothing and props, contributing to projects such as The Casting of Frank Stone, Silent Hill: Ascension, PGA Tour 2K, Skate, and the upcoming Until Dawn 2, among others. I'm also building Primal Spark, my independent 3D art brand dedicated to creating high-end characters and props for game developers worldwide.

Tears in Rain Project

The idea behind this came from my decision to start creating a series of smaller personal projects. I wanted to work on pieces that could be completed relatively quickly, allowing me to practice faster modeling while spending more time on storytelling through look development and texturing.

The project takes its name from the famous Tears in Rain monologue from Blade Runner. The speech is a reminder that every moment eventually fades away, but I like to imagine that places and objects can preserve small pieces of those stories. I combined this theme with a concept by the great Peter McKinstry, a prolific concept artist and designer known for his work in film and VFX.

My main goal was simply to express myself through a small piece of 3D art. Like a painter creating a quick sketch to capture an idea, I wanted to create a single prop that could tell its own story. The object itself became the storyteller, preserving a fragment of a larger narrative and leaving the rest to the viewer's imagination.

Gathering Reference

References are an essential part of the workflow. While collecting them, sorting them, and deciding which ones are relevant, I think our brains naturally go through a process of selection and visualization. Even before we start modeling, we are already building the project in our minds. I organize my references by purpose. Some are for presentation, some for design details, others for lighting, material definition, or understanding how different surfaces behave. Some references are there purely for storytelling.

I always make time for this stage because I constantly come back to my references throughout the project. I compare my work against them, look for small details I may have missed, and find new sources of inspiration. They help keep the project on track and prevent me from drifting away from the original vision. The best part is that a good reference library doesn't just serve one project. It becomes a valuable resource that I can return to again and again in future work.

Modeling

For modeling, I used 3ds Max and a traditional subdivision workflow. The prop itself is relatively simple to model. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted the modeling stage to move quickly so I could spend more time in ZBrush, texturing, and look development. The hard-surface parts were created using a standard Sub-D workflow with Quad Chamfer and TurboSmooth. I always try to keep my topology as clean as possible because I know the model will eventually be sculpted in ZBrush.

Even polygon distribution and clean edge flow make sculpting much easier and produce better results. One mental trick I've followed for years is simple: if something is taking too long to model, I'm probably approaching it the wrong way. I stop, rethink the problem, and often start over. There is rarely only one correct way to model something, and finding the fastest and most efficient solution is part of the creative process.

ZBrush Pass

During the ZBrush pass, I focused on adding subtle surface details to both the metal and plastic parts — small cuts, dents, worn edges, and other imperfections that give the prop a sense of history. I constantly went back to my reference board, carefully choosing details that felt appropriate instead of adding damage just for the sake of it. This is also the stage where the storytelling really begins. I always try to place the prop within a larger narrative. In this case, I imagined it as a piece of equipment that had survived a sci-fi conflict, carrying the scars of its journey.

Every scratch, dent, damaged edge, or fractured glass should suggest that something happened before the viewer ever sees it. At the same time, I decide which details should be physically sculpted in ZBrush and which are better left for the texturing stage. Larger forms and damage that affect the silhouette are sculpted, while finer surface information is usually more efficient to create in the textures.

This is a chance to experiment, play, and discover unexpected ideas. I mix purchased alphas with hand-sculpted details, constantly testing what works best. Happy accidents often become some of my favorite design elements. There are no strict rules here — just exploration. The only thing I keep coming back to is my reference board. It gives me the freedom to experiment while making sure decisions still support the story and the overall design.

Topology and UVs

Planning the topology during the high-poly stage makes the low-poly process much more efficient. Instead of starting from scratch, I can reuse most of the existing mesh. I simply clean up the topology, remove unnecessary edge loops, and optimize the geometry while making sure the silhouette remains unchanged.

For UVs, I use the Bridge script to transfer the model into Headus UV Layout, where I handle all of the UV layout work. Since the main focus of this project was storytelling through texturing and look development, I split the prop into four texture sets. This gave me enough texel density to preserve small details and support close-up renders. Once the UVs were finalized, I baked everything at 4K resolution using Marmoset Toolbag.

Texturing

For texturing, I wanted to build the three main materials — metal, glass, and plastic — from the ground up, layering them step by step. For the metal, I started by looking up the correct PBR values for aluminum and metal in general, particularly its base color and roughness. From there, I gradually built the material by breaking up the roughness with grunge maps, adding a subtle brushed finish using anisotropic noise, introducing leaks, specks, and dirt, and finally using a curvature map to emphasize the details I had sculpted in ZBrush.

Once the core materials were established, I moved on to the "special effects" pass. This is where the prop really started to develop its personality. I added welding seams, subtle rust, pieces of tape, labels and decals, heat discoloration (tempering colors), and finally a few traces of blood to reinforce the story behind the object. Every layer should support the narrative rather than simply making the prop look older or dirtier.

For the glass, I used the Broken Glass Generator Tool by Javad Rajabzade. It gave me the fractured glass effect I was looking for. On top of that, I added water droplets, subtle color variation, and leak patterns in the Roughness channel to suggest that heat had escaped through the cracked glass. The goal was to make it feel as if the glass had fractured under pressure, releasing steam from the device inside.

Presentation

The lighting setup for the presentation is actually quite simple. I believe that if the model, materials, and shaders are doing their job, the lighting shouldn't have to work too hard. I used a soft studio HDRI as the skylight, complemented by a key light, a fill light, and one additional rim light to better define the silhouette. The goal was to keep the presentation clean and let the asset speak for itself rather than relying on dramatic lighting.

To enhance the effect of the cracked glass, I also used emissive maps around the inner frame of the shader. In ray-traced mode, the emissive surfaces produce subtle indirect green illumination inside the device, creating the impression that it's still powered and that energy is leaking through the fractured glass.

To finish the presentation, I added a subtle layer of volumetric fog in Marmoset Toolbag to introduce a bit of atmosphere and depth. For post-processing, I kept things fairly restrained, using ACES tone mapping along with a slight boost in contrast, a touch of bloom, and a bit of sharpening.

Challenges

Even small projects like this one had their own challenges. One of the biggest is having the patience to keep working through uncertainty. Projects rarely go exactly according to plan, but every obstacle is an opportunity to improve the design or learn new skills. As you keep refining the model, adding details, and solving problems, it slowly takes on a life of its own. Eventually, there comes a moment when it finally looks like the object you had imagined — and that's an incredibly satisfying feeling.

Conclusion 

When creating a prop like this, we naturally think about its appeal. At the most fundamental level, an appealing prop starts with good design — strong proportions, clear shapes, and believable materials. But I don't think that's enough. To me, a great prop serves its purpose well. Its aesthetics should follow its function, and both should support the story. Every design choice should make the viewer believe that the object belongs in its world and has a reason to exist.

Small scratches, worn edges, or design decisions should feel intentional. If a prop can make someone wonder who used it, where it has been, or what happened to it, then it has done more than just look good — it has told a story. Over the course of the project, you learn to trust the process. It's a lot like sports. You don't become stronger after a single workout — you improve by showing up consistently, even on the days when it feels like you're not making progress.

Creative work is very similar. There are moments of uncertainty when your work doesn't look the way you imagined, and it's easy to start doubting your decisions. The important thing is to keep moving forward. Every iteration adds something, even if you can't see it immediately, and the prop eventually comes together in the end.

Eventually, there comes a point where you have to let go, accept that no art project is ever truly perfect, and call it done. Create something small, but make it meaningful. Give it your full attention, craft it with care, and treat it as if it were the most important piece you've ever made. And above all, do it for yourself. 

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."  — Vincent van Gogh

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you've picked up a few useful tips that you can apply to your own projects. Finally, I'd like to thank the 80 Level editorial team for the opportunity to tell the story behind this project and share my workflow and thoughts with the community. 

Dragoslav Vugdelija, Character Artist

Interview conducted by Emma Collins