Principle of Games Art
Week 1 —- Mind Map, Researches and Initial Sketch
Week 2 – Week 5 —- More Researchers and Final Sketch and Block Outs
Week 6 – 2023/26/01 —- Texture and UE5
Final Work —- From Different Views
More Details
Reflection
When I got the theme for this project, I already had a general idea in mind. I wanted to make a scene with a technological quality, so I chose Secret Headquarter as my theme. I started by looking at artwork online and conceived of a sci-fi scene that resembled a corridor, like a spaceship. It was a long corridor with cables and some battery units on the walls. I quickly sketched it out and decided on a light source, I wanted to place the scene in a parallel light so that it would be half light and half dark. I also did some simple modelling and rendering to verify my ideas
Obviously, the result wasn’t bad, but I still wasn’t satisfied enough, the corridor wasn’t as grand as I thought it would be. So I pushed the idea back and tried something new. By chance, I suddenly thought of a sci-fi movie — Pacific Rim and I noticed the magnificent bases and Jaeger in it, which prompted the idea of trying a heavy industry style. I grabbed this keyword and did a round-up of information on the internet, looking for plenty of references. The key word for heavy industry is steel forest, with a lot of steel frames interspersed throughout the scene, and this was the hardest part. I had to think about how to fit the countless steel frames into the scene and still keep the scene in rhythm. I used the most basic composition —- The steel frames are thick and thin, they face in different directions and have different shapes. Once this part of the sketch was defined I started to imagine the layout of the scene. I designed it as a two-storey building with a balcony-like structure so that we could admire the energy core that stands on the ground floor, it is giant machine standing in the centre of the scene, which is the heart of the scene and is responsible for providing energy and keeping the system running. I also felt that the scene was lacking in detail after some basic modelling had been done, so I used a real factory as a reference and placed some small objects in the scene, such as containers of various sizes; different styles of flooring and a lift I added on purpose, which not only enriched the scene but also gave it a better texture
The process of finding materials went relatively smoothly, but the process of attaching them did not go as smoothly as expected. All the materials attached to the surface were heavily stretched and squeezed, with some fractures, which obviously did not work, so I re-arranged the UVs and rebuilt a small part of the model, this time trying to keep the shape as simple as possible to make it easier for me to cut and re-arrange the Us. As it turns out, good Us are the basis of materials, and the modified UVs fit the material better, without severe stretching and squeezing. So, I continued my work by mapping the different models separately, then exporting the mapping from Substance Painter, and finally importing the models and materials together into Unreal Engine 5 for final assemble and rendering. Although everything went well, the whole process was very tedious and boring —- as I had too many scattered objects. Luckily I had enough patience to put them all together one by one.
In fact, I gained a lot from this project. The tutor uploaded a lot of tutorials to keep us on track, and through watching the tutorials and the tutor’s hands-on guidance, I learnt how to make simple generalisations about the model rather than wasting too much time on details, as well as UV splitting and laying out. I was introduced to two new software programs — Substance Painter and Unreal Engine 5, both of which were new to me, and I was blown away by the power of these two softwares. Most importantly, I was able to experience the basic process of developing a game scene for the first time, which was fascinating, and although many problems arose during the process, I solved them one by one. I have gained a lot from this project, I have learnt the basic operations of Substance Painter and Unreal Engine and the specifications for importing and exporting files, I have also really understood Us and materials and solved a lot of problems during the semester. Of course, there is pity in the final product, as my scene didn’t work properly due to the collision mesh, which is something I didn’t notice at the beginning of my work and needs to be fixed and prevented from happening again in my next project. In the time to come, I hope to learn more about 3D software, understand more complex operations and settings and try out different styles of projects, maybe sci-fi, maybe magical, and maybe just around us. I think these will be wonderful and unforgettable memories that will last me a lifetime.