There is a step I am missing. It looks like they are painting on a mask or something, not sure because when i paint on the plane , the pixels dont bevel in or out.
Very impressive. I just took my first steps yesterday and the work I see on this site is mind blowing. The textures are superb. Daunting and inspiring.
Finishing touches on the high poly. I'm not entirely happy with the handles: they were tough, but I should have done better than that. Next step: retopology.
They're not too bad, though it may depend on the detail you're hoping to achieve. Stair-stepping and gaps can also be smoothed away with a little acetone.
those stepped indents on the right, there is no reason to have that modeled in the low, it woudn't be noticed in game. You've gotta let the normal map do its job.