I created a chess set to improve my workflow: I created the models in Blender with curves and subdiv mod; the textures are created in Substance Painter. The images are renderd with Cycles and edited in Blender with the compositor. Final touch in Photoshop.
I created a bronze material and a steel material to experiment with masks and effects in Substance Painter. The bronze material is mainly characterized by dirt and roughness variation, the steel material by scratches.
I created three scenes with the chess set: steel bishop vs bronze pawn, bronze knight vs steel knight, bronze queen and bronze rook vs steel rook.
You can look at the chess pieces side by side in their steel and bronze versions. Images rendered in Marmoset Toolbag.