What’s the secret to painting the ‘used universe’ look from Star Wars?

Jess Cordingly, England

Answer

Mark replies

The easiest way to achieve the used universe look is to avoid depicting shiny surfaces and materials. The key is to use the same modern and futuristic shape language, while painting weathered and aged materials. You also have to create a little personal story for these objects.

I would recommend studying how various materials look in real life, to understand how to paint them. Usually you can find more scratches and dents around the edges of the objects for example, because that’s where they come into contact with other objects. Study the appearance of rust stains, how paint becomes aged on top of a metal surface – and why. If you’re really serious, visiting a scrap yard and studying all the different worn materials that have been disposed of by their previous owners – plastics, metals and woods – can be an invaluable experience.

The key to create a believable spaceship is to show that it’s in regular use and seen a lot of action. You can achieve this by giving it a worn look. Adding ageing and signs of erosion to your materials gives an idea of its age. Using scratch marks,...