Nailed it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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 😁

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

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

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

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