Recreating The Original Clear Shell Game Boy With 3ds Max & 3D Painter

Introduction

My name is Carla Albertelli and I'm 21 years old. Currently a student at New3dge in Paris, I started these studies because I became interested in digital art in general, and ended up falling completely in love with the profession. It's only been two years since I started 3D, and I own much of my level to New3dge, which allowed me to acquire solid skills.

The Game Boy Project

I began my Game Boy project as part of a semester project at my school, working independently. I chose to recreate a Game Boy, in memory of my childhood with my older brother, recalling watching him play on his Game Boy Color. So I spent several hours searching for good quality references to start my project, which are essential for understanding the object and getting as close to reality as possible.

Modeling

For modeling, I used 3ds Max. The biggest challenge was modeling the Game Boy case, as it is an extremely well-known object, any shape error would quickly make the object unrealistic.

For modeling details and additional parts like batteries and the circuit board, just like with the Game Boy, I relied on a lot of references. Next, I worked on the UVs using RizomUV software. I didn't encounter any particular problems because I had cleaned up the topology beforehand. This step should not be neglected, as without good UVs, the texturing won't be of high quality, so I placed my UVs on several UDIMs to achieve good quality.

Texturing & Lighting

For texturing, I first did pre-shading to better visualize the outcome. Then, I switched to Substance 3D Painter.

I initially focused on the plastic, which took a lot of time because creating realistic transparent plastic was challenging. I adjusted many parameters and created maps to simulate the wear and yellowing of the plastic over time. Then, I relied on references to add details and scratches, creating curvature maps to damage the plastic that is most in contact with the environment. For the smallest parts, I focused on those that were most visible and added a lively aspect to the Game Boy.

It is important to work cleanly with layers and to tidy everything up properly in order to work in the best conditions:

Once all the maps were in place and the texturing was completed, I positioned the lights to highlight my object, inspired by the lighting of old retro advertisements.

Conclusion

After properly setting up my lights, I proceeded with the renders, which took considerable time since my object was transparent. I had to do this over several days, but the result was worth the wait.

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be not to overlook the research for references. Without them, it's impossible to create a convincing object.

Carla Albertelli, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine