Article by Jordan Cain

Alright, stop. BEVEL TIME!

My last article covered how you can combine different Toolbag techniques, such as the Bevel Shader and Vector Layers, to achieve faster results. This article dives deeper into bevel shading techniques in Toolbag, keeping everything in the same app whenever possible.

I’m happy to report that the Bevel Shader can be used with creases, too! You can get all the advantages of high-poly subdivision without needing to use support loops, and still use the Bevel Shader, in one time-saving package. Let’s hammer out the details.

Bevel Shader Setup

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

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.

Texturing the Hammer

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.

Using Gradient Layers in the mask, you can limit the hammering effect by adjusting the gradient profile in the Layer Settings and by using the translation widgets in the viewport.

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.

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.

That’s a Wrap!

Nailed it. Oh, how the turn tables.

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