For this project I wanted to do something reminiscent of an old deep sea diver. I found some references online and took some creative liberties to make it into something a bit more stylized. I imagined this character in some sort of Bio-Shock type setting. As I was working on it, I kept adding more details and grunge. I got to the point where I was like "alright, I gotta cut this off", because I could have just kept adding more and more layers to create more wear and tear.
I tried out a new technique where I attempted to make the material look wet with a really glossy/slight color fill layer over the metal parts, and a slightly less glossy/darker color layer over the fabric parts, with water drip/drop/run effects in a black mask. I think the effect looks convincing enough but I am sure I can find ways to make it look better in the future. I used A LOT of generators and several hand-painted layer masks to create different effects like the dents and scratches in the metal. This was also my first time using the path tool, but I found it super useful to be able to adjust some details after drawing out my lines. I used it specifically on the leather straps and the rim on the small metal chest piece.
