Crafting Personalized Worn Colt Navy Revolver With Blender & Substance 3D

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is NeueN, and I am a 3D Artist working at the indie studio Synthes Games. Together with other artists, I create spaceships, environment details, props, animations, and materials.

My journey in the industry started during my college years. I was involved in robotics, and we were preparing for an international competition. The topic was creating an autonomous robot that could collect and deliver garbage using AI. This experience opened my eyes to CAD programs like Fusion 360. It allowed me to think about and create 3D models of working mechanisms, then assemble them manually, and finally present a finished project at the competition. This experience left an incredible impression on me and determined my path.

Colt Navy Project

The project itself began when, during my regular job, I found myself needing to work in Marvelous Designer. In the evenings, I would simply sit and watch various videos on the topic, and the idea of working with skin came up. Before that, I had no experience creating it. Previously, for training purposes, I created various parts, including the drum of the revolver. Two ideas came together, and I began collecting references.

References

For me, references play a crucial role in the overall process of creating a product. After an idea is conceived, it is essential to understand the principle of operation of the entire mechanism as well as the individual parts. This includes understanding why certain materials were chosen and why the product was created in the first place.

To gain this understanding, articles dedicated to the product, videos analyzing its assembly, operation, and application, as well as drawings and stories from owners can be invaluable resources. These resources can help answer questions about how the product was designed, assembled, and used.

The first step I take is to watch videos about the assembly and disassembly of the mechanism, if available. I also collect drawings and photographs of the collapsible parts of the mechanism and various variations of the product (older, newer, or similar in terms of parameters). This information forms the basis for my modeling process. For texturing, I am looking for articles on creation, prototypes, historical versions from museums, and redesigned versions. The transition from a completely new to a practically unused version is especially important. It can also be another object made of similar materials, not necessarily your option, all this is necessary to understand why it looks like this. All of this will help us understand why the final product looks the way it does.

Creating Geometry, UV & Baking

Grasping how it works in my mind, now it's just a matter of visualizing it. The main model was created in Blender. Everything started as usual, from simple to complex.

From the beginning, I created an earlier version of the revolver. However, I later changed it to a Conversion variation because I was more impressed by it. I also lengthened the barrel and the drum slightly, as I thought it would look more interesting. I love Boolean operations and add-ons like Hard Ops, BoxCutter, and MESHmachine. These are the three main tools that I use to create geometry in Blender. They greatly simplify my work, although the model needs to be optimized after them.

Also, as a lover of constantly changing shapes, I often use the Bevel modifier with the Weight method. This allows me to add edges and reduce or increase rounding at any time. After creating all the basic shapes, I add small details and decide it's time to move on to ZBrush to create high-poly models.

In ZBrush, I divide the objects into three groups: animation parts, parts that are included in others, and individual static parts. Basically, in ZBrush, I smooth the edges and add various geometric defects (chips, large scratches, textural features of wood, and the like). I also combine the parts that fit into each other.

After receiving the desired result, I returned to the low-poly. This was an exceptional piece of work for ArtStation, so I didn't focus on the accuracy of the grid or its optimization. The most important factors were good baking and shading. I used Blender for the unwrap and add-ons like ZenUV and UVPackmaster 3 to help me with this process.

The process itself can be simplified with various operations such as mirroring and different selection methods. I especially like using the Select from the MESHmachine add-on to select objects. When I unwrap everything, we can set one texel for everything. Then, the UVPackmaster comes into play. I created four tiles with a resolution of 4096 pixels on all objects to ensure detail. I also combined everything into six animated objects and created a simple skeleton. This will also help with baking.

After watching a number of videos on how to create a leather holster, I decided to try my hand at it. I spent a lot of time experimenting with different parameters in Marvelous Designer, such as thickness, physics, and other settings, to create the perfect skin. Finally, I created a template that worked for me and moved it to Blender. There, with the help of distortion along the curve, I set the shapes I needed, modified the metal inserts, rope, and additional inserts on the holster, and also made belts.

Since the holster was quite simple, it was not difficult to deploy, but due to its size, it had to be packed in the same four tiles as the revolver in order not to lose details. Next, we transferred the revolver to Marmoset Toolbag 4 and baked the model, which had a fairly large number of polygons (37,000). Since there were no special baking techniques required, the results were satisfactory almost immediately.

Texturing

Creating textures is the most important step in creating a full-fledged work. No matter how well-modeled the object is, it's just a plastic model with no textures. I believe that textures can be used to tell the unique story of a model and its path. The key idea of this revolver is the story of a worn-out object that was carefully cared for but eventually outlived its owner and began to gather dust in the pantry.

Before creating textures, I prepared the render scene. The render was done using Marmoset Toolbag. At this stage, I set up the camera and adjusted the field of view (FOV) so that the revolver looked good in the frame. During the texture creation process, I periodically viewed materials with different HDRI cards to ensure that they looked good in different lighting conditions.

I started by creating a base metal material for static elements. I like to use a base color and then dilute it with darker and lighter variations, which allows me to create more interesting textures. I also like to add some heterogeneity by creating an additional colored layer with an elevation map included.

Just like in real life, metals accumulate damage every year. So, in textures, I try to reflect this by adding minor defects layer by layer from the first years of use of the revolver.

Next, I try to achieve color changes over time. I add various additional colors, oxidations, and fades, as well as use the HSL filter and PassThrough mode to make an adjustment layer. This allows me to adjust the entire color of the metal.

After that, I apply larger chips and defects to the metal and also create an anchor to add scratches to subsequent layers.

I transferred the same base to metal for the animated elements, adjusting the tonality. Because these elements are movable, wear on them will be more frequent and specific. For example, the drum may be damaged due to rotation and contact with other parts. This should be taken into account when creating textures 

After that, I worked on text inscriptions and factory engravings. Then, I added chips to the edges. For the chips, I used the Metal Edge generator. However, it needed to be combined with other maps and adjusted in some places where it would be realistic to have more severe damage.

The moment of rust has arrived, and I often try to work carefully with it. Too much rust on a model means that it hasn't been restored for a long time or the object has been discarded altogether. This requires a different approach. In my version, the revolver looks old but still functional, and not too long ago, it was forgotten. The main areas for rust are depressions and joints where moisture can linger. I also added paint stains that might have accidentally gotten into the revolver's storage area (as I mentioned, it was kept in the pantry after the owner's loss). Finally, I added various stains, dusts, and scuffs for the final touch.

I wanted to show that the grip was homemade. The owner made it after he lost the original grip and replaced it with a hand-carved one. He also added personality by burning a Mickey Mouse image on it.

I took the wood base from one of my previous projects, added a little variety of colors, as in the case of metal, but this time I used different shades of wood as masks. Then, I created a gradient along the AO and got a radial overflow from the center to the edges. To give the texture more depth, I added darker fibers and reduced the roughness around the edges of the handle.

The next step was to apply scuffs to the handles, exposing the untreated wood. Using Photoshop, I created a sticker and attached it to the pen. I also tried to create a wood-burning effect using elevation maps. After that, I worked on the varnish and added more defects to the wood. Finally, I added shading along the contours since more dirt accumulates at the junctions of metal and wood. I also added cloudy elements and worked on reflections and streaks.

When working on a leather holster, I decided to use three different types of leather: the main pattern, leather for straps and inserts, and leather edging for the edges. Having created the basic shape of the mask, I added some scuffs to the leather edging and inserts. I also created separate scuffs and textures for the laces. I thought it would be nice to use a height map to create dents on the holster to give it a more realistic look. I separated the inner and outer parts of the holster and made the outer part more worn than the inner one.

To give the holster a unique look, I applied decals with logos and ornaments along the edging. Then I added threads to tie the pattern to the overall design of the holster. At the same time, I used a basic metal material and added plaques and metal inserts to the holster to give strength and durability. Finally, I added scuffs from wear and various contaminants from operation, as well as splashes of paint from the metal revolver.

Rendering & Post-Processing

As I mentioned earlier, Marmoset Toolbag was the main tool used to create a render in my project. Since I had already prepared the scene during the texture check, I changed the HDRI resolution and added light sources. As a result, Studio Soft, with four additional light sources, was chosen for the main revolver frame. In addition, I built the scene using models loaded from Quixel. To simplify the process, I recommend creating separate folders for different angles so that you can always return to a specific render. This time, I was satisfied with the post-processing settings in Marmoset Toolbag and made minimal adjustments to Photoshop using curves and adding grain.

Conclusion

For me, a great tool for creating visualizations is to record the history and context. When I create a model, I often create a textual version of the events that the object went through and then explain how these events are reflected visually and conceptually. Every effect has a cause. If it occurs to me that my revolver has a broken handle, I could start from that point and either seal the broken handle with duct tape or replace it with a new one, which I will make myself. If you want to add some unique features to the model, this is a great option. According to this text, you can determine the approximate type of the model and make an approximate concept. It also works in the opposite direction.

If, for example, you wanted to make an inscription on your model with a marker, you could think about how and why it was done a long time ago. By setting the context, you can always rely on it to make the model more realistic. If it was written a long time ago, it can be partially erased and replaced with a more recent version on top. Or it may remain partially intact. By answering these questions, you will be able to create a story and demonstrate your own unique vision of the model.

NeueN, Hard Surface Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine