Apocalyptic Helmet

The Project

This project is the result of the most challenging and demanding mentorship I’ve taken so far, taught by Abhinav Pandey at CG Axiom. The mentorship focuses on creating high-quality AAA 3D props and characters, with a strong and consistent emphasis on technical accuracy, production-ready workflows, and storytelling through design.

At CG Axiom, the focus is not only on learning tools but also on understanding the artistic and technical thinking behind professional game assets. The mentorship is structured to simulate a real production environment, where every stage – from concept interpretation to final presentation – is approached with industry standards in mind.

Through continuous feedback, detailed breakdowns, and a strong emphasis on problem-solving, the program helps artists develop both their artistic eye and technical discipline. This approach ensures that students not only create strong portfolio pieces but also gain a deeper understanding of how assets are built for modern AAA pipelines.

Project Goal

The goal of this project was to create a striking and original hero prop, something that stands out from what is typically seen on ArtStation.

The main objective was to recreate the original post-apocalyptic/dieselpunk pilot helmet as faithfully as possible, with a strong focus on achieving ultra-realistic textures and a highly polished final render.

It was also an opportunity to challenge myself with a complex and technical prop in order to assess my current skill level.

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Website

Inspiration

I’m passionate about post-apocalyptic and dieselpunk art styles, especially the way they combine survival-driven design with industrial aesthetics. I enjoy assembling different types of materials – such as worn leather, metal plates, and mechanical parts – to create props that feel layered, functional, and rich in storytelling.

I then searched the internet for relevant references and finally found this piece.

Moodboard

The first step, before modeling, is gathering references.

For my helmet, I was fortunate that ArtStation and Google provided numerous high-quality photos from different angles, which made the task much easier.
I collected all these images in PureRef.

Software

For this project, I used Maya for modeling and UVs, ZBrush for sculpting, Maya for UV packing, Substance 3D Painter for texturing, and Marmoset Toolbag for baking and rendering.

Blocking

As mentioned earlier, the internet provides numerous photos of the helmet, which greatly facilitated the blocking stage.

I simply displayed the images as a background in Maya and modeled directly on top of them. I spent a long time deciding whether to create them directly in ZBrush or to complete a full blocking in Maya. In hindsight, doing everything in ZBrush might have been faster, but less precise.

Mid-Poly

The mid-poly stage is a crucial step for the rest of the project, and it was important for me to prepare it carefully.

I conducted numerous tests, part by part, to achieve an optimal mid-poly mesh that would be fully compatible with ZBrush.

The logic is fairly simple: with an already advanced blocking in place, I just added supporting edges, bevels, and a subdivision level to all of my meshes to facilitate importing into ZBrush.

High-Poly

In ZBrush, I added thickness to thin geometry, fixed all problems with the geometry, and moved all parts from one to another to get a clean, complete look.

Also in ZBrush, I created damage on fabrics, ripped holes, and created stitches by using default brushes from LightBox. The zip was also created using the default brushes.

Regarding the sculpt, my mid-poly was already solid. I performed ZRemesher on the necessary parts, and for the rest, I mainly used brushes such as Standard, Dam Standard, Clay Buildup, hPolish, Trim Dynamic, etc. You can see from the images below how I approached my sculpt step by step, reaching the final look.

Low-Poly & UV

In this stage, I create the low-poly model, though in my case it’s closer to a “mid-poly” mesh. For personal projects, I don’t strictly limit myself to a polycount budget.

I’d rather spend that time on artistic decisions than over-optimising topology, especially when creating hero assets intended for close-up renders like this helmet.

Planning for Close-ups

When creating assets for close-up shots, it is vital to avoid visible “stepping” or jagged edges on curved surfaces. My golden rule is to evaluate the curvature from the distance of the intended final render.

I position the camera close to the geometry, and if the silhouette looks blocky, I add more segments. This is a common pitfall for many artists: angular geometry in a high-resolution close-up can immediately break the immersion.

Tip: Don’t be stingy with polygons for your portfolio pieces. Save the aggressive optimisation for production work. It’s always better to have a bit more than too little.

Modelling Workflow

I use three simple techniques for my low-poly/mid-poly creation:

Primitive Wrapping: Building new geometry using primitives around the high-poly model.

Refining the Blockout: Utilising the earlier blockout mesh and adding subdivisions where necessary.

Traditional Retopology: Drawing polygons directly over the high-poly surface using snapping

UV Mapping & Texel Density

For the unwrapping process, I use Maya for UV packing. The final result consists of two texture sets with a texel density of approximately 31px/cm (2K texture).

When it comes to UVs, I believe Texel Density (TD) management is key:

Maximise Overall Density: This directly impacts the crispness of your textures. Always aim for the highest value possible within your constraints.

Prioritise Focus Areas: I increased the texel density for the glass and leather mask by 50% to ensure these high-interest zones look sharp even in extreme close-ups.

Optimise Hidden Surfaces: For areas that are rarely seen by the player or viewer, I reduce the TD by 50-100% to save space for the more visible shells.

Baking

Finally, I perform a standard bake of the Normal, Curvature, and AO maps in Marmoset Toolbag. After checking for any artefacts or bugs, I move on to the texturing phase

Texturing

The texturing of this post-apocalyptic/dieselpunk pilot helmet focuses on creating a believable asset made from salvaged materials. Aged leather, worn metal plates, rough fabric, and brass mechanical parts were used to build strong material contrast.

Surface details such as scratches, rust, dirt buildup, cracked glass, and faded stitching were added to convey heavy use and long-term wear.

The goal was to enhance storytelling through textures, making the helmet feel handcrafted, repaired over time, and suited for a harsh post-apocalyptic environment.

Render

For the renders, I chose to use Marmoset Toolbag 5. With Ray Tracing enabled, it’s possible to achieve very high-quality renders quickly.

Classic renders on a white background. Turntable renders. Close-up renders. I also made several adjustments to all my cameras to achieve optimal colour grading and overall visual balance.

Video Presentation

To present the final asset, I created a simple 360° turntable video to clearly showcase the model from all angles.

The turntable render was then imported into Adobe After Effects, where I added basic transitions and export settings to create a clean and professional presentation suitable for a portfolio and online platforms.

Conclusion

This project helped me grow in every direction as an artist – artistically, technically, and mentally. I hope you enjoyed reading about my process, and thank you for taking the time to follow the journey.

A huge thanks to my mentor Abhinav Pandey, and the team at CG Axiom for their constant guidance and support throughout the mentorship. Their focus on strong fundamentals, storytelling, and production-ready workflows played a major role in shaping this project.

Lastly, I’d also like to thank the team at Games Artist for giving me the opportunity to share my work and process with the community.