Working with vertex painting here to test out how environmental degradation might spread across the ceiling. Pretty happy with how the intensity builds up naturally in those corner areas – exactly where you’d expect to see mold or water damage starting to form. Was playing around with the brush settings to get that organic spread pattern, wanted to avoid anything that screams “this was manually painted.”
Key thing here was keeping the variation natural-looking. Old rooms develop these kinds of imperfections over time, especially around joints and corners. By concentrating the darker tones in these structurally logical places, it helps ground the space in reality. The gradual fade-out from these areas prevents any harsh lines that might break that illusion.
Working with these exposed ceiling beams as a more efficient alternative to vertex mapping – the natural shadow lines they create break up that ceiling space perfectly. Those white beams against the lighter, cracked paint ceiling create this great depth variation, and their parallel placement adds some natural structure to guide the eye.
Key thing was getting the blend strength right for the “coffee stain” texture – letting just enough of the stain pattern through to create variation without making it look obviously mapped. Those subtle gradients in the original stain texture give us really natural transitions between worn and less worn areas. One key improvement was adjusting the underlying wood tone to sit better with those deep shadows between the beams. When the worn patches reveal the wood underneath, they integrate smoothly with the overall darkness of the ceiling structure.