Scifi Helmet 3D Modeling Tutorial.
Software: Blender, Zbrush + Substance Painter.

https://image.nostr.build/aba01a699af9932eaf565beccda3e0e8f37a7ebf251795b4b3ebe4528ca87c27.jpg

This tutorial will not cover the basics of 3D modeling but instead focus on a tactile, hands-on design process without safety nets.

The standard modeling approach is starting with gathering reference images and proceed with sketching.

For this helmet design I wanted to attempt a different angle of approach. I decided to start the modeling process immediately and let practical considerations inform the design.

https://image.nostr.build/c20493ba51e2d78a6f1b80767e2156c898a18c5f07702c9d5ac1d35c285c6c17.jpg

This first, quick iteration, while visually awful, gave me a number of valuable ideas.

I wanted the glass visor to be spacious and let a lot of light in, illuminating the character.

One goal I had defined from the beginning was that the helmet was going to be used for scifi portraits, meaning that the visor must provide good visibility. I also wanted to experiment with setting up an interior lighting system.

Since I didn't know in advance how my lighting system needed to be structured, this hands-on approach suited me perfectly.

It's important to not lose sight of your goal at this stage. Trust yourself that the design will improve.

https://image.nostr.build/e7d1159951054fb53f98b55ff666b40de33cce0661d59ffa801c038e78d050ea.jpg

Here I made a fast paintover where I indicated changes I wanted to model in Blender. No details at this stage. I want to let function impact design here and I need to consider the overall shapes first. In which direction do I want to take the helmet?

This is a stage where all paths are open. Anything is possible. I love this moment in a hands-on design process because at this moment I am not bound by an initial sketch that I have to copy and recreate. I can enter the creative flow instead and just imagine changes to the vague outline.

https://image.nostr.build/48a9e898e8b787b8bb209daf6d687957579cfef3a89708c65d957192357edf29.jpg

At this moment in time I am not concerned with the quality of the mesh and don't bother with hard edges or weighted normals.

My ideas for the visor shape and area is starting to form, combined with some bulky shapes that strengthen the helmet and allow for integration of a radio piece.

https://image.nostr.build/49e16854b04ef796ac01b33d98cc0e33bbea268f8939659ea23e7f15c11029e8.jpg

Here I added an early shape for a radio-comms device. I also extended the helmet chin area which was too weak in the previous version. I feel that I am on track with the changes and that the radio fits well with the placement of the character's ears.

https://image.nostr.build/a5a5b9dd35e5fd22e66103bd4c42db87cb1297c22be7e203653ee2b531ae2dae.jpg

The helmet was still a bit too smooth and barren at this stage and I wanted to include some more technical items and modeled a simple box that I intended as a speaker/comms piece, connected to the radio antenna piece. I made the top of the helmet more bulky since it felt overly fragile.

https://image.nostr.build/0ecbc67a35943f65d424f417e78643981d0b85c9f2cd69d66850a934bbe93361.jpg

I decided to cross my Rubicon with these significant changes. I had been debating with myself how much light I wanted to flow in via the visor. As I was considering adding an internal light above the character's forehead, I had to extend the helmet shape forward in order to achieve that result.

Function informs design. This is why I didn't want to start out with a sketch, because I had no idea at the beginning how exactly the functionality would impact the design. Placing a character inside the helmet was crucial for me to consider its shape.

At this point I have started to add details to the radio/comms structure since I was happy with the overall layout.

https://image.nostr.build/e1c087016ac624da434cf7a85df2f9870d9d55322bfe7b16a5c92d22c1df0754.jpg

As I felt the interior was empty I decided to sculpt a simple instruments panel with mini screens that can display valuable information.

A bonus with this idea was that I could use these mini-screens to lighten up the character's face. I also modeled a simple microphone, extending from a set of headphones.

For the radio I modeled a few more greebles and four small cables hanging openly beneath. I was aiming at a retro-scifi style so I was looking for opportunities to show exposed cables.

https://image.nostr.build/4e29fa5d770ca787bb2a66e37f69ad63afbc3010fa44092b51dc9393932f461b.jpg

At this stage I was experimenting with the interior lighting system. As I had hoped, I was able to use the mini-screens on the instruments panels as light sources by cranking up their emission values.

Thanks to the function-informed design the top-light in the helmet could be angled to cast a light on the character's forehead.

Also I expanded the instrument panels a little and I was haopy to add some more exposed wires where they made sense.

The external radio and speakers needed some kind of internal device that connected with them, and the new pieces I modeled fitted the purpose.

https://image.nostr.build/5ce5b46c69b6922c8704e32435213860c9fba5fd86136fccae2ccfbd45a78da6.jpg

At this point I felt that my overall design was working and I started to improve the mesh, finalize the shape and add hard edges. The instruments panel grew and I think this was the first time in the design process that I could start imagining the texturing stage.

https://image.nostr.build/a7cbcb7cf44368a798ce70b7cb363332c6ec1095902fc636cf6f038bec7763ba.jpg

More refinement. I made the top and bottom more bulky and sturdy. This thing was supposed to take some beatings.

After this I decided that I wanted oxygen tubes connecting with the helmet. I wanted the oxygen tubes in turn to connect to some kind of air filtering device.

https://image.nostr.build/84b0a1a8263414498b48a88da2d4b4247d52cde1381086634b5fdfc92eb7b76e.jpg

This was the final design of my oxygen tubes and the air filtering unit. I wanted a slight StarWars stormtrooper feel here, but with a more tactile and practical design. I added a screw-on system for a rustic retro scifi look.

This render is after my texturing process of course.

https://image.nostr.build/be643f569ede51e5be2878f9fa6fa6c96d73d04dd0e8c3d38210641a25bc8394.jpg

Another look at the backside. I made several paintjobs and spent days on end just to scratch up the metal by hand in substance painter.

https://image.nostr.build/ee8947662d3b99f812bc1ca09e8312f619dac91429c32fa93589509840bff8e8.jpg

Yet another paintjob. This is a closeup of the attachment system for the air filtering unit.

These designs above are the only ones I didn't model by myself. They are simply normal-map shapes that I added to a flat mesh surface. They look like general topology because I made scratches around areas that would have more wear and tear.

The screws have been used and the hatch has been opened many times, so I had to visualize this with the areas of peeled-off metal.

https://image.nostr.build/60947dc4c58cdb65c60465e84f69febe5d0027ee30211628adfbc5dd56df622c.jpg

Closeup of the air filtering unit and a different paint job.

https://image.nostr.build/c3635be071bf5ec71bd522966ea669242fdd938fb9fc46d1db5f04c091e5a75c.jpg

From this angle, the oxygen cannisters inside the air filtering unit are visible. I thought it was fun to expose the bottles like this, it is retro-scifi after all.

Under the filtering unit I made two circular connections, just in case I wanted to connect the filtering unit to a backpack in the future.

https://image.nostr.build/e46f3c3d977023430b258d70fb0e4c65a6359c3d63d56799f4fb88f0fc15b4cb.jpg

The scratches don't stop. Below the helmet there needed to be heavy scratching due to placement wear and tear. Throw that thing across the floor.

https://image.nostr.build/35d795bff1aa7c83a351f65c8966cd2d9a806c6bdb74b09af2d4294709e88c90.jpg

Another paintjob from below and heavy scratching. I realized how wildly fun it was to scratch up the metal.

https://image.nostr.build/7310aafeaea5cd804b991d9040e87a655986eeab25a8e96f27f6f3792d420bd7.jpg

Closeup of the radio/comms system. I had intentionally made it slightly assymetric and went with an approximated balaced feel.

I wanted the helmet to look cobbled together in a garage. If the systems work, they work. They don't have to be factory design symmetric. I wanted a rough and tactile design.

https://image.nostr.build/980799aa6bcd9d79f9b8c89aa4b2252f3f4ef92efa573f6f18a8847137be3b5a.jpg

I wanted to allow the option to hide the radio/comms system.

https://image.nostr.build/3dcd8de3fb121f071a94742352973b2ddc44f75bc3245bddbf723da5d74e62f2.jpg

Frontal view of the finihed helmet. I tried to give the interior leather padding a kind of WW2 style, which fitted with the retro theme.

https://image.nostr.build/8c1466a6b5a7a4cb18f1d07fb070e3d868b421b60ee0ec31982155e4f684c88a.jpg

Same render but with the radio/comms system hidden.

https://image.nostr.build/7b821915d0aa40a6621c773c398b1eb1b47ca1e9a3b87d5ec89efd9ef407da37.jpg

A look at the instruments panels and microphone headset. These are all mini-screens without any buttons. The helmet user is probably not going to press any buttons with their facial extremities anyway.😄

https://image.nostr.build/97c2af2392c189250ac06d6a9e831732fe7814bdafbed6884fc4ec3a0102b676.jpg

More interior.

https://image.nostr.build/e90bbbc4218be3b159e1bfe63844d325dcd6e201712b24427fa2d54398ebee7d.jpg

Full interior view of the instrument panels. I designed a number of simple screen graphics to fit with the retro style.

The two central lights are not part of the helmet. I modeled them separately to help illuminating the character from below. Because they are separate they can be resized, rotated and hidden easily.

Lessons

In conclusion I want to mention that I initially planned the UV seam on top of the helmet. This was a grave mistake that forced me to redo my UV-mapping and my first texturing. There was an unfortunate bug in my (old) version of substance painter that made the UV seam hard to hide. Also it presented a few other technical problems.

For my second attempt I placed the UV seam at the front of the helmet, cutting through a small segment of the frontal chin part of the helmet instead of the whole upper+back part.

This was a far better way to UV map the helmet and if I were to embark on a helmet project again, that's where I would cut my UVs.

Thanks for reading. 🌟⭐️💫

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