Ambient Occlusion

This tutorial assumes you know the basics of working in Blender

If you are using version 4.1 or earlier, make sure you have ambient occlusion activated under the render tab

I add an Ambient Occlusion node and activate “inside” – this will detect convex shapes

I connect the color output to the base color of the principled bsdf

As I change the distance, I can now see the edges

I add a color ramp between the AO and principled bsdf – this will allow me to further control the edges

I change the interpolation to ease to make sure the edge is softer

I move the black color stop to around 0.6

Edge Wear

I duplicate the AO node and disable “inside”

I add a mix color node and change the blending mode to value – this combines the hue and saturation of the background color with the value of the foreground color

I connect the top AO node to the A input of the mix color node and the bottom AO node to the bottom input

I connect the mix color node to the color ramp

I add a second mix color node and connect the first mix color node to the factor of the new mix color node

I change the blending mode to mix

I add a noise texture and connect the factor to the A input of the second mix color node

I change the B input color of the second mix color node to white

I can adjust the black color stop as needed [0.8]

As I increase the options of the noise texture, I can distort the edge wear

I add a brightness/contrast node between the color ramp and the principled bsdf

This node will increase the overall brightness of the material and the contrast makes brighter pixels, brighter and darker pixels, darker

I set the brightness to 1 and the contrast to 2

I select these nodes (except the principled bsdf and material output nodes) and use CTRL + G to group them

I connect the group input to the distance of each of the AO nodes

I also connect the new outputs to each of the noise texture options

I also connect the group input to the contrast input

If I use SHIFT + RMB and drag over the noodle, I can add a reroute node

With the reroute node selected, I can use the G-key to grab it and move it

This will help keep everything a bit neater and easier to read

I TAB out of the group and rename the group node to AO Edge

This will allow me to make any changes I need with just one node

Edge Wear Texture

I will be using a metal texture that I downloaded from AmbientCG – link is in the description

I add a mix color node

I add an image texture and open the color map

I connect the image texture to input A of the mix color shader and set the input B color to black

Base Texture

For the base color, I will use a second metal texture from AmbientCG – link is in the description

I add an image texture and open the albedo map

I connect this to the B input of the mix color node

I connect the AO edge group to the factor of the mix color and connect the mix color to the base color

I now import the roughness, metalness, and normals maps for both textures

I change each of the color space on the textures to non-color

I duplicate the mix color shader and connect each of these maps as needed – making sure to connect the AO map group to the factors

I also add a normal map node and connect the mix color node for the normal maps to the color input

I connect the normal map node to the normal of the principled bsdf and increase the strength

Base Material

I split the viewport and open the shader editor

I make a new material for the cube – making sure I am in material preview

I delete the principled bsdf and add an emission shader – this will allow me to use light as part of the material

I add a noise texture and a math node to add some distortion to the lighting effect

I connect the factor of the noise texture to the math node

I change the function of the math node to multiply and connect it to the strength of the emission shader

I change the emission shader color to a bright blue [#06A1E8]

I change the dimension of the noise texture to 4D – this means I have access to the W input (which is an additional texture coordinate)

I change the scale of the noise texture to 10 and the value of the math node to 10

I select these three nodes and use CTRL + J to add a frame

I right-click and rename the frame

Gradient

I add a mix shader and a transparent bsdf shader

I also add a texture coordinate node and a separate XYZ node along with a color ramp

This set of nodes will allow me to add a gradient to the lighting

I connect the generated texture coordinate to the separate XYZ node

I connect the Z output of the separate XYZ node to the color ramp

I connect the color output of the color ramp to the factor of the mix shader

I connect the transparent bsdf to the top shader input of the mix shader

I connect the emission shader to the bottom shader input of the mix shader

Finally, I connect the mix shader to the material output

I reverse the color stops on the color ramp

I change the color of the transparent bsdf to a bright blue [#047DB5]

I select these five nodes and use CTRL + J to add a frame

I right-click and rename the frame

Depth

I add a new mix shader node and connect it to the material output

I connect the previous mix shader to the bottom input of the new mix shader

I also add an emission shader, color ramp, layer weight, and geometry node

This set of nodes will allow me to light up the faces and add depth

I connect the true normal output of the geometry node to the normal of the layer weight – this is the flat normal of the surface

I connect the facing output of the layer weight node to the color ramp – this weight is used for layering different shaders

I reverse the color stops of the color ramp

I move the white color stop to position 0.5 and the black color stop to position 0.75

I connect the color output of the color ramp to the factor of the emission shader

I connect the new emission shader to the top shader input of the mix shader

I select these five nodes and use CTRL + J to add a frame

I right-click and rename the frame

Edges

I add a new mix shader node and connect the current mix shader to the bottom shader input

I connect the new mix shader to the material output

I add a color ramp and an emission shader

I also add a vector math node, a geometry node, and a bevel node

This set of nodes will highlight the edges of the model

I connect the bevel node to the top vector input of the vector math node

The bevel node will allow for rendering rounded corners

The vector math node will allow me to use the dot product math operation

I change the operation of the vector math node to dot product and connect it to the color ramp

I connect the true normal of the geometry node to the vector math node

I connect the color output of the color ramp to the factor of the mix shader

I move the black color stop of the color ramp to position 0.75

I connect the emission shader to the top vector input of the mix shader

To see the edges a bit easier, I increase the samples on the bevel node 

I select these six nodes and use CTRL + J to add a frame

I right-click and rename the frame

Scan Lines

I add a new mix shader node and connect it to the material output node

I connect the previous mix shader node to the bottom shader input of the new mix shader node

I add a transparent bsdf and wave texture

This combination of nodes will add scan lines to the object

I connect the factor of the wave texture to the factor of the new mix shader

I change the bands direction to Z

I change the scale to 20 and the distortion to 1

I connect the transparent bsdf to the top shader input of the mix shader

I change the color of the transparent bsdf to a dark gray [#2C2C2C]

I select these three nodes and use CTRL + J to add a frame

I right-click and rename the frame

Glow

I set up my camera view

For the glow effect, I switch to the compositing workspace

I activate “use nodes”

I add a viewer node and connect the render layers node

I use F12 to view the scene

I tap the V-key to fit the image into the viewport

I add a glare effect between the render layers node and the other nodes 

I change the fog type to fog glow

I also change the mix to 0.5

Glossy Plastic

I add a fill layer and rename it to base layer

Under the properties panel, I will change the base color to a midtone green [#3E6C43]

I also change the roughness all the way to 0.35

I turn off all the material slots except color, height, roughness, and normals

I use CTRL + D to duplicate the layer and rename it to dirt

I right-click and add a black mask

With the black mask selected, I right-click on the black mask and add a fill

Under the textures options, I search for dirt maps

I will choose grunge dirt scratchy and drag it onto the grayscale of the properties panel

I change the blending mode to hard light

I then select the grunge map and increase the contrast and balance parameters

I also change the offset transformations

I use CTRL + D to duplicate the layer and rename it to curvature

With the black mask selected, I delete the fill layer and add a curvature generator

I change the blending mode to multiply

I then change the balance and the contrast parameters

I change the “use texture” slot to true

I search for grunge and drag the grunge concrete spot onto the texture slot of the image input

I change the blend mode to passthrough and lower the opacity of the generator

I also change the fill color to a light green [#739676]

Smart Material

To save this material as a Smart Material, I add a Folder and rename it

I move all of my Layers into the Folder

I right-click on the Folder and Create Smart Material

Modeling (Bucket)

This tutorial assumes you know the basics of using Blender

I add a cylinder with 16 vertices and set the origin to the 3D cursor

I start by scaling the cylinder to a real-world scale 

In edit mode, I select the top edge and scale it along the X- and Y-Axis

I inset the top face and extrude it down along the Z-Axis

For the handles, I select the top, center faces on the sides and extrude them up along the Z-Axis 

In object mode, I apply the transforms

I add a cylinder and rotate it around the Y-Axis by 90-degrees

I scale it along the Y- and Z-Axis and move it so it intersects with the handles

I select the bucket and add a Boolean modifier – using the difference option and selecting the cylinder as the object

I then apply the modifier

UV Unwrapping (Bucket)

I split the viewport and open the UV editor

In edit mode, I select the edges and mark seams

I then unwrap the object

I rotate and move the islands as needed

In order to straighten the islands, I select two horizontal vertices and scale them to zero along the Y-Axis

I repeat this for another two vertices of the same face

I select two vertical vertices and scale them to zero along the X-Axis

I repeat this for another two vertices of the same face

In face mode, I select the face that is now square and use the L-key to select the rest of the island

I right-click and choose follow active quads

I pack the islands – disabling the rotation option

I add a small bevel to the edges 

Modeling (Metal)

I duplicate the bottom face of the bucket and separate it from the wood material

In edit mode, I scale the metal so it is slightly bigger than the bottom of the bucket 

I clear the seam

I extrude the face up along the Z-Axis

In object mode, I select the bucket

In edit mode, I add two horizontal edges and a third edge near the top of the bucket

I add a bevel to the two edges

I select the new faces and duplicate them – separating them from the bucket

In object mode, I join all the metal pieces together

In edit mode, I extrude these new faces to give them some thickness

I make any adjustments as needed to avoid overlapping faces

UV Unwrapping (Metal)

I clear any seams that remain from duplicating the faces

I select the edges and mark seams

I then unwrap the object

I rotate and move the islands as needed

In order to straighten the islands, I select two horizontal vertices and scale them to zero along the Y-Axis

I repeat this for another two vertices of the same face

I select two vertical vertices and scale them to zero along the X-Axis

I repeat this for another two vertices of the same face

In face mode, I select the face that is now square and use the L-key to select the rest of the island

I right-click and choose follow active quads

I pack the islands – disabling the rotation option

Modeling (Rope)

I add a path curve

I move, scale, and extrude the curve to the correct form for the rope

I increase the bevel depth [0.025]

I lower the resolution preview

In object mode, I right-click on the rope and convert it to a mesh

UV Unwrapping (Rope)

In edit mode, I select the edges and mark seams

I then unwrap the object

I rotate the islands as needed

Texturing (Wood)

The technique I’m going to show you comes from Comfee Mug 

The texture I will be using are from AmbientCG

        Planks 039: https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Planks039

I will be using the node wrangler add-on

I split the viewport and open the shader editor – making a new material for the wood

I delete the principled BSDF node

I drag-and-drop in the base color of the texture

I select the image texture node and use CTRL + T to add a texture coordinate and mapping node

I increase the scale of the texture 

I make any changes to the UVs as needed

I add a hue-saturation-value node and connect the base color

I can now decrease the value to make the wood appear darker [0.2]

I add a diffuse shader and connect the hue-saturation-value node

I add a shader to RGB node and connect the diffuse BSDF to it

I add a brightness/contrast node and connect the shader to RGB node to it

I increase the brightness to 0.3 and contrast to 0.6

I add a color ramp and connect the brightness/contrast node to it

I add two mix color nodes – connecting the color ramp to the factor of the first one

I make the A color a dark brown and the B color a lighter brown [#7D4827, #C06E3C]

I then move the color stops of the color ramp to adjust the colors

I connect the first mix color node to the A input of the second mix color node

I change the blending mode of the second mix color node to color dodge

I change the B color to a more saturated brown and turn down the factor [#A94300, 0.2]

If I want the textures to react to different lighting scenarios, I duplicate the diffuse and shader to RGB nodes

I move these to the end of the node chain and connect the last mix color node to the diffuse BSDF node

Texturing (Metal)

For the metal material, I add a new material

I copy the nodes from the wood material and paste them onto the metal material

I then change the image texture to the metal texture

The texture I will be using are from AmbientCG

        Metal 046B: https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Metal046B

I also change the colors on the mix color nodes [#424242, #7A7A7A, #C9C9C9]

Texturing (Rope)

For the rope material, I add a new material

I copy the nodes from the wood material and paste them onto the rope material

I then change the image texture to the rope texture

The texture I will be using are from AmbientCG

        Rope 001: https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Rope001

I also change the colors on the mix color nodes [#867238, #C0A350, #BABA00]

I increase the scaling

Cell Fracture (Blender)

I will be using the Cell Fracture extension

If you are using Blender 4.1 or earlier, this will be under add-ons

I will also be using the node wrangler add-on

I will be using the default cube for this tutorial

In edit mode, I right-click on the cube and subdivide it 4 times

 

Back in object mode, under the object menu, I go to quick effects then cell fracture

The source limit is the amount of detail and noise determines the randomness 

Using the M-key, I move these individual pieces to their own collection

I hide the original cube in the outliner

With all of the pieces selected, under the object menu, under the rigid body submenu, I choose add active

I add a plane and scale it up [20]

Under the object menu, under the rigid body submenu, I choose add passive

I open the timeline and press play to see the fracture

I can now hide the plane

Material

In the UV editing workspace, I select all of the individual pieces

Using the U-key, I unwrap the pieces using the smart UV project

I open the shader editor and make a new material

I will be using a rock texture from AmbientCG – link is in the description

I select the principled shader and use CTRL + SHIFT + T to set up the texture maps

I increase the scale as needed 

I add a color ramp between the roughness map and the principled shader

I move the white color stop to the left to reduce the shininess of the material

I select all the individual pieces and save them as an FBX file – making sure I activate “selected objects only”

I change the smoothing to “face”

Importing into UE5

I make a blank project

In the content drawer, I make a folder for the rubble

I import the rubble into the folder

I select all the rubble pieces and drag-and-drop them into the scene

I can now scale and rotate the rubble

Base

I will be using a concrete texture that I made in a previous tutorial – link is in the description

I bake the textures in order to use the texture maps [windows – mesh baking]

In the package management tab, I drag-and-drop the maps I baked out in the previous tutorial

Back on the layering project editor, I add a multi-channel layer and open the layer channels

I use the image resource for each map and bring in the texture maps

Adding a Mask

I select the top layer in the layer stack and click on the add mask button [looks like a crop icon]

When I see the popup menu, I will choose the mesh edge wear mask

This mask will generate a curvature mask which allows me to add procedural edge wear

Mesh Edge Wear Mask

I change the mode of the curvature mask from edges to both so I can use both edges and cavities

I can see an edge wear being applied to the curvature map

Under the scratches panel, I can choose the input to change the type of scratches

If I change the blending mode to vivid light, I can easily see the edge wear on the 3D object

Tracking

I will be using a video I downloaded from Pexels 

I open the motion tracking workspace under the VFX menu

I open my footage and under the render properties, under color management, I change the film look to standard

I also set my scene frames to match my video

I select prefetch to load my video first so it will run faster and smoother when I do the tracking

For the match, I will use keyframe and I activate normalize

Under the tracking settings, I change the correlation to 0.9

On frame 1, I hold down the CTRL key and draw a rectangle over the four corners of the laptop screen

I use the A-key to select all four corners and track the markers forward

I scrub through the footage to make sure the track is good

I select all the trackers on the laptop screen and open the solve panel

I twirl open plane track and create a plane track

I then move the corners of the plane track to the four corners of the laptop screen

Compositing

I open the compositing workspace and activate use nodes

I can delete the render layers node

*I will also be using the node wrangler add-on

I import the movie clip using a movie clip node

I add an image node and open the image I will be using as a screen replacement

I add a mix color node and set the blending mode to screen

I connect the movie clip to the top image input and the image to the bottom image input

Using SHIFT + CTRL and clicking the mix node to see the footage and also add an output node

I add a plane track deform node to bring in the tracking information

I place this between the image and the mix node

I open the movie clip, camera, and the plane track

I also activate the motion blur

Render

I connect the mix color node to the composite node

Under the output tab, I choose where I want the footage to be rendered

I change the file format to FFmpeg and the encoding to Quick Time

Under the render menu, I render the animation

Niagara Project

I right-click in the content drawer and make a folder for my project

I right-click in the new folder and open up Niagara system

I then choose a new Niagara system with an empty template

Particle Shape

I open up the Niagara project

I don’t want the HDRI to show in the preview window

Under the window menu, I open the preview scene settings

I disable show environment and I change the environment color to black

Under the emitter update section, I add a spawn burst instantaneous

I change the spawn count to 125

I select the initialize particle and under the sprite attributes, I change the sprite size mode to non-uniform

I can now change the size to 2 along the X-Axis

Particle Velocity

Under the particle spawn, I add a velocity option

I click on fix issue to remove the errors

For the velocity, I use the dropdown menu (arrow) to choose a random range vector

I then increase the minimum momentum of the axes 

I then change the maximum momentum of the axes 

I select the sprite renderer and change the alignment to velocity aligned 

 

Particle Lifetime

I select the initialize particle and change the lifetime mode to random

I also change the minimum and maximum lifetime 

Particle Drag and Gravity

I select the particle update and search for drag

I also add a gravity force

Particle Color

I select the particle update and search for color

I can now change the color using either the RGBA option or choose from the color wheel

Using the dropdown menu (arrow) of the scale color, I add a vector from float

For the value, I also add a float from curve

These two values will intensify the color

I right-click and add a key 

Particle Scale

I select the particle update and add a scale sprite size

For the size mode, I select non-uniform curve

I select the Y value and select the first key and change the key data to 0 and 1

I select the second key and change the key data to 1 and 0

I right-click on the first key and choose user – this gives me a more gradual falloff

I select the properties of the empty and change to GPU

I activate fixed bounds and local space

Final Touches 

I select the system state and reduce the loop duration 

I select the particle update and search for collision

I also add a curl noise force – increasing the noise strength and reducing the noise frequency 

I also activate pan noise field

I can now save and drag the particle system into the scene

I reduce the directional light value to make the scene darker