LogInVladyslav Lazariev talked about how he created the Concrete Barrier project, focusing on the texture adding slight wear on the edges, scuffs, and areas with peeling paint to show natural wear.
Introduction
Hello! My name is Vlad Lazarev, and I'm from Kherson, Ukraine. I've been doing 3D graphics for about two years now. I came into this field out of curiosity. I was always interested in how game assets and environments are created. I started with simple models and gradually delved into different stages of the pipeline, from sculpting to the final render. I learned completely on my own, through video tutorials, articles, and analyzing others' projects. Right now, I'm just starting to build my portfolio, so I try to invest effort into every project to ensure it's high-quality and shows my progress.
This project was originally a test task for a studio, and I had only three days to show the entire creation cycle, from concept to final render. My main goal was to demonstrate the ability to work efficiently and cleanly, without losing quality. Before starting the modeling, I analyzed the task in detail. I thought about which elements are most important for a studio pipeline: clean topology, realistic materials, a competent level of detail, and readability of the form in the render.
For inspiration and gathering references, I used photos of industrial sites, road barriers, old concrete fences, and architectural elements from Eastern Europe. I wasn't just looking for beautiful shots, but real, living textures, with cracks, rust stains, moss, dirt, and rain marks. I wanted the final result to look not like a "game asset out of the box", but like part of a real environment, where every detail has its logic.
Getting Started
I separately considered the form and proportions of the block, so that it could fit organically into both a modern urban setting and a more post-apocalyptic one. Conceptually, I aimed to convey the feeling of a used object, something that has been standing in its place for a long time, showing signs of time, weather conditions, and human intervention.
I also decided in advance that I wouldn't overcomplicate the design, on the contrary, I wanted to show how a simple form can become expressive through proper work with material and wear. This approach, it seems to me, is closer to real studio practice, where it's important not to spend time on unnecessary details but to skillfully reveal the essence of the task.
I created the basic form in Blender, where I immediately set the main proportions and wall thickness to avoid problems with scale and mesh density. After that, I moved to ZBrush, where the stage of adding micro-details and damage began.
In ZBrush, I worked with Layers to be able to flexibly control the intensity and variation of details. I used ready-made brushes for chips and cracks to speed up the process, but at the same time, I defined the main shape of the damage manually to maintain naturalness. This approach helped achieve a lively result without a "stamped" feeling.
To save time, I used symmetry and masks to highlight damage zones, and I also planned where exactly chips and cracks would concentrate, in corners, on edges, and areas of logical contact. Thanks to this, I managed to make the model detailed without exceeding the three-day deadline.
After the high-poly stage, I performed retopology in TopoGun, which is great for precise control over mesh density.
When creating the UV unwrap in RizomUV, I decided to make a rectangular unwrap, since this was not forbidden in the test task conditions. This format allowed for quick and convenient distribution of texture space and simplified further work in Substance 3D Painter.
The unwrap turned out clean and easily readable, with uniform texel density and minimal distortion. This allowed me to work with textures most efficiently and without baking artifacts.
Texturing
I started with the base concrete layer, which was a neutral gray-beige material with slight roughness and micro-noise to set the foundation for the entire surface. After that, I added a paint layer, which was meant to look slightly faded and partially peeled off.
Returned to the concrete and refined its variations, adding dark areas, color irregularities, and small spots so the surface wouldn't look flat.
Next, I worked on variations of the paint and concrete. I added slight wear on the edges, scuffs, and areas with peeling paint. These effects were created using masks based on curvature and ambient occlusion, which helped achieve natural wear and tear.
After that, I moved on to additional details that make the object "alive": moss, dirt, and graffiti. I added moss in areas where moisture could accumulate, placed dirt closer to the bottom part and indentations, and used graffiti as a visual accent, adding character and urban realism to the object.
Final touches included manual refinement of masks and slight color corrections to unite all layers into a single, balanced material.
Conclusion
I assembled the final scene in Marmoset Toolbag. I used neutral HDRI lighting and an additional light source to accentuate the forms. Post-processing was minimal, a bit of contrast, slight bloom, and sharpening to emphasize the material and micro-details. I tried to show the model as honestly as possible, assembling a simple scene in a post-apocalyptic style.
The main secret is observation and attention to small details. Even a simple object can be made interesting if you understand its material and history. The main difficulty was the time, three days for the full pipeline, from blockout to render.
This taught me to value planning and flexibility in work. Also, my friend, Ivan Popov, played a huge role, helping me with advice and the right solutions at every stage of the model's creation.
To beginners, I would advise, don't be afraid of simple forms. It's better to make one realistic and technically competent object than a complex but unfinished one. Quality in details and sequence of actions, that's what is always visible in the final result.