Learn to Make Weathered Retro Console with Maya & Substance 3D Painter

Introduction

Hello artist family. I’m Abhishek Dhiman, a 24-year-old Hard Surface and Props Artist with four years of experience in the video game industry. I currently work at Mandali Games in Dehradun, India.

I’ve been a passionate gamer since childhood, and my very first game was Super Mario Bros. From an early age, I was fascinated by how I could control the characters with a controller. As I grew older, I became curious about how games are made and how they work. Back in 2005, I didn’t realize there was a career in game design or development. After completing school, I initially aimed to become an engineer, but I soon discovered that I wasn’t cut out for the development side of things.

After some research, I learned about career opportunities in game design, so I enrolled in a university’s Animation Department and completed my bachelor’s in Animation. During my very first lecture on 3D design, I fell in love with the medium and decided to specialize in it. In my last semester, I secured an internship at a studio, marking the beginning of my journey into the gaming industry. I gained valuable skills, techniques, and insights into various software during that time.

Currently, I’m working on some exciting upcoming projects that I can’t disclose.

Retro Console

There’s a little story behind starting this project. I was feeling unwell, and my doctor advised me to take a few weeks of bed rest. However, it was tough for me to just lie in bed all day, so I grabbed my laptop and started browsing the internet. That’s when I came across a fantastic website called Android Arts, where I found some incredible concepts of retro-style consoles and gadgets with a modern and sci-fi twist.

Here are the inspirational concepts that I used for this project. You can find all of them on the website.

I was particularly inspired by these concepts because, while there are many artworks featuring old retro consoles, I wanted to add my unique modern touch. I aimed to create something fresh and different that hadn't been done before. So I began gathering references and creating my own versions in my style.

What started as a practice project for modeling gradually evolved. As I shared my progress with colleagues, they offered support and ideas that helped me stay motivated. I delved into UV mapping, texturing, lighting, and rendering and decided to focus more deeply on my texturing and lighting skills. Throughout this project, I learned a wealth of new information.

For modeling, I started by gathering high-quality references from multiple angles and specific elements. They help me maintain proper proportions, details, and overall fidelity to the real-life object. I mostly add elements from inspiration concepts, creating a hybrid from real-life references and conceptual elements, with some parts designed by myself.

For texturing, I found high-quality close-ups showing material usage. Instead of looking for references for the exact same assets, I searched for similar material references. This helps achieve a realistic result. If possible, I also try to find material references around me and take some photos to use in my work.

For lighting and rendering, I look for cool, attractive setups with good lighting to make my assets more eye-catching.

It's also important to keep reference images organized by separating them into groups. Here, you can see my reference board:

The software I used:

• Autodesk Maya (modeling)
• Rizom UV (UV unwrapping and packing)
• Substance 3D Painter (baking and texturing)
• Quixel Bridge (texturing resources, scene composition fillers)
• Marmoset Toolbag 5 (lighting and rendering)
• Adobe Photoshop (renders composition)
• Wondershare Filmora (video composition)

Modeling

In this project, I followed a mid-poly workflow, which means every single detail is modeled in the mesh without extra details baked in. I started modeling from the console, then moved on to the cartridges and chips, followed by the joystick, and finally, the controllers. To save time, I planned to make the wires at the last rendering phase; I'll explain why during the UVs and texturing phase.

During this phase of modeling, I focused on the shapes with proper proportions, aiming for near real-life scale, even though these concepts don't exist in real life. I paid extra attention to the curves and cylindrical details, ensuring no part looked low-poly by giving them more than sufficient edges. This approach ensures that every detail appears proper and well-defined.

Checklist: If You Use Maya for Modeling

1. The naming and grouping should be good and properly aligned.
2. Run cleanup in the file to find hidden errors like lamina faces, non-manifold geometry, etc.
3. There should be no NGon in the mesh.
4. The model should be on the grid.
5. There should be no history in the file.
6. The transform values should be (0,0,0).
7. DAG objects should be clear.
8. No extra materials should be in the hypershader.
9. No extra UV sets if you don't intentionally work on multiple UV sets.

UV Unwrapping

Using RizomUV to unwrap and pack models is a smart move. It's like playing Tetris but with 3D models. 

It is one of my favorite parts because it’s where we decide and plan to pack the assets with proper density and plan the texturing phase, aligning the UVs vertically or horizontally.

Here’s my plan for the assets. I worked on five different sheets: 

• Console – 4K sheet with 120 td/px 
• Joystick – 2K sheet with 116 td/px 
• Cartridges – 2K sheet with 124 td/px 
• Chip connectors and wire – 1K sheet with 115 td/px 
• Controllers – 2K sheet with 118 td/px

As I mentioned above, I planned to make the wires at the end. I made a 1-meter straight wire and packed it with the chip UVs, snapping the UVs straight from left to right to create a trim material. This way, I can shape the wire as needed and arrange the UVs by placing the shell on the trim area.

Texturing

Before starting texturing, I always make sure to set my lighting, display, and shader settings to achieve the best possible results. Here are my settings; please see the images below.

Start by creating a base material for the part – for instance, if you're making plastic, wood, or anything else, first apply a base color with a roughness value close to the real-life material you're aiming to replicate.

Next, add any minor height details if necessary. Then, introduce general roughness variations to the asset, like noise roughness variations, but keep them very subtle and less noticeable. Also, take some new variant references of your model to get an idea of the base material.

Now let's talk about the usage part, which gives your model or asset a story. This is about what happens to your asset, where it belongs in the timeline, aging, etc., making your model more attractive and approachable.

1. Logos and markings: I start with additional logos, engraved height markings, labels, stickers, tape, or any creative idea that comes to mind. I always use proper references. When it comes to creative freedom, I follow 3D artwork and real-life references.
2. Material discoloration: Next, I work on the discoloration of the material, like grime, fading, and exposure.
3. Surface damage: After that, I focus on surface damages such as wear and tear.
4. Stain marks and microparticles: Then I add stain marks, leaks, or any microparticle details, like markings of stains or paint colors.
5. Dust and dirt: The final step involves adding dust and dirt.

Here’s the link where you can check and correct your material according to the PBR workflow. Following these guidelines will greatly improve your lighting and rendering results.

During texturing, please set a basic light setup at the rendering software so you check your materials in the engine or lighting software, how they react in the different lighting conditions.

After completing your texturing, delete unused resources from the painter file to lighten your scene or file.

Another effective method for obtaining realistic usage stencils is to find images online. You can then import these into Photoshop and convert them into alpha masks.

In my case, I extracted stencils from various images I clicked on and used them as references for my material creation. You can see the results in the images below.

I have shared some of the videos in which you can see how I add little creative touches to my assets:

Lighting & Rendering

I used Marmoset Toolbag 5 for lighting and rendering, which is key to showcasing your work effectively. Even if your modeling and texturing are excellent, inadequate lighting and presentation can lessen the impact of your project and make it less engaging for viewers.

Here are my camera and render settings that you can use for your scene or composition:

When working with lighting, it's essential to experiment with different compositions and setups to find the right mood for your subject. Rejected lighting setups are a normal part of this process. They help you learn what works and what doesn’t, guiding you toward the best results. Here, I’m sharing some of my rejected renders to illustrate why this trial-and-error approach is important for achieving the desired outcome.

Experimenting with camera and render settings is a great way to understand how different configurations affect your composition. While I typically use the same settings I’ve shared above, I’d like to explain why those settings work for me consistently. Below, you’ll find comparisons that illustrate their effectiveness.

Now let’s discuss my scene setup. I arranged all the assets on a small wooden table and set the camera angle for the shot. Then, I added supporting elements, like wires, and included props to help break up light reflections in certain areas. I experimented with different lighting setups from the same angle and adjusted the placement of supporting assets to create a more attractive composition. As I mentioned earlier, I created 5-6 variations of the wires and placed them in the scene to fill empty spaces, which made a big difference in the overall look.

Here is my scene setup, which shows the overall composition. In these setup images, you might notice some things that seem illogical, like floating wire ends. However, in the final renders, everything is well placed because I focused mainly on the camera frame because it's not an interactive or playable scene.

Post-Processing

In this process, I just added the final touches to my renders and video renders from Marmoset. For this process, I used Photoshop for image post-processing and Wondershare Filmora for the video render.

For the video render, I just offered a little introduction about my project and, in between, attached every video from Marmoset. I added a touch of particle dust and a vintage effect in Filmora to achieve a nostalgic, old look for the video.

For the rendered images, I used Photoshop mainly to add some dust particles for a textured look and made slight adjustments with the Raw filter to enhance contrast and overall appeal. Here are the differences:

Conclusion

Be confident and take action! You can't learn everything in a day, but with time, you will master your skills and share your knowledge with others. Nothing is impossible. If you don't start something, you won't achieve anything. However, if you begin and face challenges, you'll learn a lot from those experiences. This is what sets successful people apart from those who aren't.

If anyone has any doubts or questions, you can join my Discord server, where my friends, other artists, and I can help you with feedback, discussions, ideas, and more.

We built this 3D community so that passionate artists could have a place to hang out with other artists, seek help, share their knowledge, and expand their skills in a collaborative environment.

Thank you for reading! I hope you learned something from my experiences. Keep playing, learning, and growing!

I would like to thank Gloria Levine and 80 Level for giving me this amazing opportunity!

Abhishek Dhiman, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine