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I also really like that I can use symmetry on text. There's probably a more practical use case for this, but I'm feeling punchy today 🙃

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More scatter layer shenanigans! You can make VU audio meters using some gradients and masks to control the levels 😁

With spacemouse support in @marmoset3d.bsky.social 5.03, you can control both your cameras and your lights in yours scenes, making setup even easier. Plus you can make flying noises while you do it. Or is that just me? "pew pew"

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 12/08/2026

The new scatter layer feature in the @marmoset3d.bsky.social 5.03 update gives me yet another way to add knurling to my models 😆

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Yay, I'm in the credits now!

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 12/07/2026

If you want to avoid the C-loop, I'd suggest doing this (again, terminate that top edge someplace safe

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 12/07/2026

I'd be very careful about where you add C-loops like the one I marked in yellow. I try to avoid those at all costs because they introduce higher density in areas that don't need it (and can make things worse) But also try to extend the edge I marked in red to a flatter area.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 11/06/2026

Big braining it over here. Used a single path with radial symmetry to make a Cool S vector decal in @marmoset3d.bsky.social 😆

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 08/02/2026

Also this was my first time using an ngon config tip for my bullets, and I think it worked out nicely

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 08/02/2026

Leveraging creased subdiv + bevel shader for the ammo strip

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 07/02/2026

Previewing the highpoly visdev before starting the lowpoly 👀

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 05/02/2026

Ah yes, the age old "what if I bump up my rust project to 8K?"

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 04/02/2026

Here it is side by side in the same image. Left is with oxides filling in grey values, and right is just a rust to steel transition without the intermediate steps.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 04/02/2026

This is what you'd get without those oxidation layers, which is a common problem in metalness workflows, and is the result of strictly sticking to 0 or 1 metal values. It's also wrong, which is why you should be using grey values in your metal maps.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 04/02/2026

This feels like the texturing version of spinning around my model. Playing with carve groups in @marmoset3d.bsky.social to get grey metalness values through intermediate oxidation.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 25/01/2026

In terms of amount of work/time needed compared against the result, pure subdiv can't compete with the bevel shader workflow. Not to mention the time it takes for edits. Top is subdiv w/ sharp creasing + bevel shader and bottom is subdiv. The top could be used as the low poly with fewer changes

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 05/01/2026

Posted this on the other site since someone was asking about Maya UV equivalents in Blender (via ZenUV addon): Along with what's in the image below, shell snapping via pivot is G to move, then press B, select the vert, and then move to the vert you want to snap to. Hopefully this helps others!

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 03/01/2026

To make blockouts easier, I map out element separation with paintovers before starting the modeling. I often have a hard time keeping track of elements, and having a map like this to refer to helps break it down into manageable chunks. Thanks to @peachmarzi.bsky.social for the ref

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 02/01/2026

Thought it'd be interesting to put some of the focus stacks into an image sequence and loop it The pin is 88 photos and the old camera is 66 photos, the difference is mainly due to how shallow the depth of field is. Tighter = more shots needed.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 01/01/2026

I recommend any detail-oriented artist to try getting into macro photography. It's fun, you learn more about presentation (lighting set up is super important), logical wear, and realize literally everything is coated in dust and hair.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 31/12/2025

I was just in a situation where I had to remove a lot of control loops and I didn't want to select them all manually. Blender's Limited Dissolve coming in clutch here. It's also why I recommend embracing the delete menu.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 29/12/2025

Stress less about high poly shading errors in gamedev. Chances are you won't see most of them anyway. Always keep in mind the 6 levels of "Does It Matter?": - Model - Bake - Texture - Compression - In-game effects - Viewing distance Good Enough™ will save you time and sanity.

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For the finishing touches, I added the maker’s mark using vector layers to create a recessed area and traced over a projected decal I found online. Using a sync point above this, we can produce the final mask effects from the vector detail.

Now that we have a grip on the surface detail, you can add a sync point above the hammered material to drive some extra finish, like edge wear and dirt buildup, to make it look striking.

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Using gradient layers in the mask, you can limit the effect of the hammering using the translation widgets in the viewport and adjust the gradient profile in the layer settings.

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For this project, I wanted the hammer's surface to match the reference, which has a hammered metal finish. You could use a cellular effect to create this, but fortunately, there is a fantastic hammered copper material in the asset library that you can repurpose for this.

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Forging ahead, it’s bevel shader time! With the hard creases in place, add the bevel shader to the high poly material and we’re in business. I’m baking to a low poly for this project, so I’m using the traditional high to low baking method.

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Weight your creases to maximum and the hard edges can drive the bevel shader like normal. If you’re using Blender, you’ll need to make sure your creased edges are marked as sharp as it doesn’t do it automatically.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 16/10/2025

Alright, stop. BEVEL TIME. The bevel shader can be used with creases too! You can get all the advantages of high poly subdiv without needing to use support loops and still use the bevel shader in one time-saving package. Let's hammer out the details with @marmoset3d.bsky.social Toolbag

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Yeah the only thing keeping it from not smoothing well with high distortion is the size of the face area. Bringing the 3 farthest verts in closer would fix that.

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Jordan Cain @oddenough.art · 09/10/2025

In low poly, absolutely. But in subdiv, as long as the other program is using catmul-clark subdiv (most do now), it'll subdivide the same way. But yeah the triangulation edge turn issue also affects non-planar quads:

If you want to know more about the baking process and vector tools used for this asset, you can read up on it in my previous threads. No high poly models used in either post. Baking: bsky.app/profile/odde... Vectors: bsky.app/profile/odde...

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Just like any project, it’s important to pre-plan where you intend to use the bevel shader and vectors. Knowing when to use separate meshes and materials will help save you time when you go to bake and texture. 5/5 Completion time: 6 days

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The large gears use the bevel shader on a booleaned mesh, but since the small gears have shallow teeth, I decided to use my trusty radial vectors. I also tapered the ends slightly to show how you can emulate the valleys in the teeth. 4/5

The bolts use the same texture as the housing, but I used a different material to control their bevel widths with their own vertex mask (shown in the previous post). To make sure they don’t look fused to the housing surface, I enabled Bevel Same Surface Only. 3/5

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Since the housing has varying edge widths, I used a vertex color mask to define those widths. I set the model to 100% red, then defined which edges should be smaller by using lower red values. Vertex masks grant you finer control while using only 1 material. 2/5

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For the latest thread in my Part Modeling series, I wanted to show off the combined effect of Low to Low baking with the bevel shader and vector layers in @marmoset3d.bsky.social Toolbag 5, this time on a more complex model. I really pushed the bevel shader on this one! 1/5

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Ah, almost the same one. The button on mine is orange.

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And here’s the final render animation. I hope this thread helped to shed some light on this workflow 😉 Total time to make this asset including modeling, unwrapping, bake, vector details, texture, and scene setup: 6 hours 10/10 Can recommend 😁

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Vector layers respond to sync points, so they can be used in the texture process just like baked detail. Here, I’m using the curvature data from the sync point to drive the edge wear mask. 9/10

For my last trick, I want to add some non-radial grippy detail to the button. I’ll need a grid-like pattern, so I’m going to use the Decal mode of the vector layer. I can draw simple lines snapped to the grid, change the bump, and increase width of the lines. Boom, done. 8/10

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This is an aspect of vector layers that I really love. Did the AD not like the pattern and requested other versions? No problem. I made 4 variations in under 8 minutes and it’s all non-destructible. And this is just using one shape. You have near endless possibilities. 7/10

I felt like this needed a little extra detail, so I also added some swoopy looking lines around the divot in the middle. Using symmetry lets me change how dense I want this area to be. I can also select any of the instanced lines to edit them all. 6/10

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Then moving onto the knurling! This is the really fun part. I used to hate modeling knurling, and static alphas were too limiting. Here, I used a simple line with a bevel and tapered ends, and set the radial count to control size. It’s both fun AND you have so much control. 5/10

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Starting with the grip, my goal is to add some knurling and panel lines to separate it into sections. So let’s draw a simple panel line for this with the symmetry enabled and set up in a radial array. 4/10

After using the same Low to Low baking and bevel shader method I covered in the previous thread, I created a texture project using the resulting baked maps. From here, I can add all of the remaining details using only vector layers. 3/10

For this, I’m using a midpoly flashlight model with profile-defining booleaned details that I had cleaned up. I marked every edge that I wanted to be beveled as both sharp and as UV seams then unwrapped accordingly. 2/10