Unwrapping

I use layers for unwrapping. One layer is always for an object I’m working on. Other layers contain already unwrapped details (one layer for each texture set). I use a tile checker to control the scale. It is assigned to all finished parts and objects in work to see the relative resolution. This way I can see what parts aren’t ready yet.

All of these methods used together make the unwrap fast and clear. Modo is very unwrap-friendly, usually, you just select the right edges and get a good result. Scaling a UV map to fit an exact rectangle is literally a one-touch feature there. I increase scale for important details and decrease for others. The base of all instances is unwrapped only once. Later all instances will be cached and I’ll be able to move the unwrapped geometry. It’s convenient to place elements of a similar type or location next to each other. I usually bake a few render passes for my newly unwrapped objects. If the objects are quite simple, I bake them together. Given that the setup is ready, it takes about 2-3 minutes (it is enough to do setup just once). After that, I know for sure that my unwrap is fine, and at the end, I usually get very few artifacts and issues. If there are some issues with normals, overlaps or resolution, they can easily be fixed with one more run. In my case, the result was suitable from the first try, and I was too lazy to make it even better.

I bake almost everything in Modo (and use Substance Painter for the rest): AO, Curvature, Thickness, matIDs, Normals, wsNormals. For the first three, I use Driver A/B/C. Modo gives a proper control under the baking. For example, it is very important to bake for Ambient Occlusion only those meshes that affect AO. Intensity and contrast can also be adjusted handily. After that, I did a quick render (within 10-15 minutes) with all maps. AO of the cable was too dim in some places. Physically it was correct, but it didn’t look good. So, I painted the missing parts of the AO by myself.

Texture Sets & Decals

As I said, this asset was made for rendering and I didn’t limit myself in texture sets. There are four of them: for the front panel, case backend, cable, and upper module. I have already touched on the texturing when I was talking about the smoothing. Smoothed angles are distinctly reflected in the curvature mask, and I constantly used it to create a pleasant impression from camera movements by increasing the roughness and decreasing flares. Because I planned all the steps in advance this stage went quickly, and there was nothing to fix. In the early stages of the concept and pre-production, I defined the quality level of future materials and textures. It was going to be a smooth, clean painted model with bright colors and many small barely noticeable details connecting the parts. I made a special reference pack for colors and materials.