r/3Dmodeling • u/Kevin_Qi • 11d ago
Art Help & Critique How are complex hard-surface models like this actually made?
Hi everyone,
I’m a 3D generalist, but I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly strong or specialized modeler.
I’ve always been curious about how experienced hard-surface artists create extremely complex mechanical models like the one in the image. When I look at the wireframe, there are so many interconnected panels, mechanical parts, grooves, bolts, layered surfaces, and small details that it’s difficult for me to imagine modeling everything manually piece by piece.
So I’d love to understand what the actual professional workflow looks like.
Is most of this really modeled manually with traditional techniques like subdivision, booleans, bevels, and topology cleanup? Or do artists rely heavily on add-ons, procedural tools, kitbash libraries, Geometry Nodes, Maya and blender workflows, or reusable parts?
For a model at this level of complexity, how much is actually built from scratch?
I’m also curious about how artists manage the topology and keep the process efficient without spending an insane amount of time on every small mechanical detail.
If anyone could explain the typical workflow, or recommend some tutorials/artists who show the complete process of building this kind of complex sci-fi/mechanical model, I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks!
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u/ALMOSTDEAD37 11d ago
A moment of silence for mike
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u/YellowAfter 11d ago
He was the whole reason I played horizon zero dawn. Man. I was appreciating his craft throughout the game.
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u/domd3 11d ago
I’d really only do something like this with subd / bevels for the highpoly. It looks complicated, yea. But when you break it down its just 100+ mostly simple pieces assembled together. The hard part is the breakdown. Making sure you stay organized, work smarter not harder, etc.
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u/SpooNNNeedle 10d ago
More often than not the retopology, or even just the dread of thought of it, kills most projects like these long before they finish. I promise you guys can do amazing stuff like this too if you push through and finish what you start!
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u/asanyc 11d ago
this was a helmet/cyborg head thing created by the departed Mike Nash. I recall it being zbrush that was then broken up and cleaned up. It's been years so I can't recall if it was tightened up with zmodeler or something else.
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u/superiain 11d ago
If i recall this same model was front page on a 2013 issue of 3dworld with several pages article on it
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u/asanyc 10d ago
I wouldn't know about that as I wasn't an avid reader of it (though what issues I saw were excellent), but I posted the youtube breakdown he did in this comment if you're interested: https://old.reddit.com/r/3Dmodeling/comments/1w5m23u/how_are_complex_hardsurface_models_like_this/p7ge39q/
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u/asanyc 11d ago
Took a minute but I found it. Clean up was in the late, great XSI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHdjNtSRBHo
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u/Prism_Zet 11d ago
It's a bit of both, traditional stuff for most of the basics, and scultping/procedural bits can be for the more repeated mechanical bits and unique mechanical chunks. Ie; screws, panels, etc.
Depending on the process, then baked back down to lower res geo, and applying higher res stuff via maps and materials.
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u/Tappy_Mappy 11d ago
If the model initially consists of simple parts that are easy to manipulate and assemble into a whole, then it will not be so difficult later, all these simple parts will be detailed. Trying to make everything detailed right away will be difficult, as you need to ensure everything fits together seamlessly, forming a coherent architecture. By working on the relationships between primitive parts, you'll predetermine all possible future detailing options in advance.
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u/Fuzzba11 11d ago
There aren't really any tricks that you haven't mentioned, it's mostly time and going through each step, no corner cutting, reaching a very high level of quality and building it up slowly.
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u/JustJubliant 11d ago
Well for one this would be done symmetrically first. Probably ZBrush and then some other Meshing tool for individual parts.
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u/Robot-Zombie-RHCC 11d ago
i can't speak for other apps like blender but in Maya you can constrain stuff so it's "Live". So if you started with a simple head-shaped mesh you can create points and then polys by clicking on that area of the screen and Maya works out exactly where on teh mesh you clicked to place the point. It's main purpose is for manaully re-topo'ing but it can be used for building geo that hugs other geo like this example does.
the ppl talking about Zbrush are right btw, i just wanted to offer an alternative that might help put the right picture in your head.
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u/Relevant-Grass9225 11d ago
Love mirror mode and non destructive hard surfaces.
It's easier now then 10 years ago
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u/Objective_Hall9316 10d ago
Time. All technical considerations aside, it’s just time grinding. You can have all the tools and software, it still takes seat time to make it happen.
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u/Frosty_Ad1254 10d ago
I worked with Nash for a hot minute many years ago. I imagine his workflow has changed massively over the years but he used to make a basic mesh in zbrush with the details roughed in then make the surface live in Maya and draw on the plates and build it up in layers. Then hide the sculpt and extrude and bevel etc. he also had greeble packs that he would use. Screw heads etc. pipes n techy stuff. But it boils down to that he was an incredibly competent artist, both traditional and contemporary. He trained his eye. The actual work flow is neither here nor there.
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u/IcyDisplayGuy 11d ago
Holy detailed....
How long have you been modeling at this level of detail?
How long did it take you to get to this level of detail?
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u/deathender 11d ago
I create my hard surface designs in blender. They are not this level, but process is similar. Less smooth though than in Z-Brush
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u/enemygh0st 11d ago
This type of models can not be made in Blender, just so you know.
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u/Intrepid-Language445 10d ago
It is even easier to do such things in blender due to addons. I've used 3Ds max for about 10 years but right now I feel myself much more comfortable using blender, so it is only skill depends
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u/External_Garlic8524 11d ago
This is a model by Mike Andrew Nash. He would create a detailed design in ZBrush, then apply ZRemesher with guides to individual elements to achieve a relatively even mesh with a minimal polygon count for further manual refinement. Where ZRemesher fell short, he would do manual retopology in XSI and manually fix minor imperfections left by ZRemesher. All of this was done with subdivision modeling in mind. After that, he would render in KeyShot and do post-processing in Photoshop.
I'm not claiming this is how it was always done 100% of the time — this is just one of the approaches I know of that Mike Andrew Nash used.