Using Opacity map instead of modeling

[Atakan]

Hi there, i am going to model the saz instrument on Blender and paint it on Substance Painter. Before starting to model, i want to ask to learn is there any other way to create (as i marked on photo) this pattern without modeling via boolen or sth? I will use the thickness modifier.

For example, is it good idea to create this black-white texture output on photoshop and applying it on instrument as texture projection? Does anyone have a better idea? Or maybe the masked opacity map works fine? Thanks a lot <3

[ipodtouchiscool (LAWL CAKE)]

Personally I think this depends on the detail level you are going for. If this model is going to be the focus of your shot then modeling it would be the wiser option, however if this is just a background prop I don’t see an issue with using masked opacity.