REFERENCES

I SAW THIS PICTURE ONLINE OF A REALLY ORGANIZED AND NICE PUREREF BOARD, SO I DECIDED TO TRY AND KEEP MINE NICE AND ORGANIZED TOO. YOU CAN SEE IT BELOW! 

REFLECTION

TO BEGIN WITH, I RE-READ MY FEEDBACK FROM MY LAST SECOND-YEAR PROJECT. I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND AND APPLY THE FEEDBACK GIVEN, AS MY LECTURERS TOOK THE TIME TO PROVIDE DETAILED AND USEFUL COMMENTS. I AGREE WITH ALL THE FEEDBACK AND WANT TO MAKE SURE I APPLY IT THIS TIME TO IMPROVE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

TO START, I HAVE DECIDED TO SCOPE DOWN AND CREATE A SMALLER SCENE OF HIGHER QUALITY, FOCUSING ON CREATING HIGH-QUALITY ASSETS WITH GOOD TEXEL DENSITY, WELL-DONE UNWRAPS, AND STRONG TEXTURES. AS THEY MENTIONED, SOME OF MY PREVIOUS ASSETS WERE RUSHED, SYMMETRICAL, OR NOT FULLY POLISHED, WHICH I THINK WAS DUE TO THE PROJECT SCOPE.

FOR THIS PROJECT, I HAVE DECIDED TO FOCUS SOLELY ON THE DESK RATHER THAN AN ENTIRE SCENE, CREATING MORE OF A DIORAMA WITH THE CAMERA FOCUSED ON THE DESK AND ITS PROPS. THIS SHOULD GIVE ME THE TIME TO REALLY WORK ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE AND OPTIMISATION.

AS MENTIONED, MY OPTIMISATION AND EDGE FLOW COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER, SO I WILL FOCUS ON IMPROVING THIS IN MY CURRENT PROJECT. THIS ALSO MEANS I CAN SPEND MORE TIME ON BAKING DETAILS AND SAVING TIME WHERE ADVISED. I FIND THIS FEEDBACK EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND FEEL VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE RECEIVED IT.

GOALS SUMMARY

GOALS :

• ENHANCE TECHNICAL ASSET CREATION:
  FOCUS ON PRODUCING CLEANER, HIGHER-QUALITY UV UNWRAPS WITH NO TECHNICAL ISSUES OR DISTORTION.
  
  

• DEVELOP HIGHER-QUALITY ASSETS:
  CONCENTRATE ON A SMALLER SCENE TO CREATE A MORE DETAILED AND COHESIVE HIGH-QUALITY DIORAMA.
  
  

• BUILD A LIVED-IN, PERSONAL ATMOSPHERE:
  AIM TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT FEELS NOSTALGIC AND AUTHENTIC — ONE THAT TELLS A STORY AND ALLOWS THE VIEWER TO UNDERSTAND THE PERSONALITY OF THE DESK’S OWNER.
  
  

• EXPERIMENT WITH VERTEX PAINTING IN UNREAL ENGINE:
  EXPLORE HOW VERTEX PAINTING CAN ADD VARIATION AND REALISM TO SURFACES AND MATERIALS.
  
  

• OPTIMIZE WITH DECALS AND ALPHAS:
  USE DECALS AND ALPHA MAPS WHERE POSSIBLE TO ENHANCE DETAIL WHILE MAINTAINING PERFORMANCE AND STAYING WITHIN TEXTURE BUDGETS.
  
  

• EXPLORE NEW SOFTWARE TOOLS:
  EXPERIMENT WITH NEW PROGRAMS LIKE HOUDINI TO EXPAND TECHNICAL AND CREATIVE CAPABILITIES.
  
  

BLOCKOUT

HERE IS MY BLOCKOUT. I’M REALLY FOCUSED ON MAKING THE DESK THE MAIN AREA OF INTEREST, KEEPING THE SCOPE SMALL BUT THE QUALITY HIGH SO I CAN COMPLETE IT WITHIN THE SEVEN-WEEK DEADLINE. MY GOAL IS TO MAKE THE DESK FEEL DENSE WITH PROPS TO ADD STRONG NARRATIVE AND STORYTELLING ELEMENTS.

I’M STILL DECIDING WHETHER TO GO WITH A CLOCKMAKER OR WATCHMAKER THEME, BUT I PLAN TO INCLUDE A HALF-FINISHED PROJECT IN THE CENTER OF THE DESK TO ADD LIFE AND CONTEXT. OVERALL, I THINK THE BLOCKOUT IS STRONG — THE COMPOSITION BETWEEN THE DESK AND WINDOW FEELS BALANCED, AND THERE’S PLENTY OF ROOM TO ADD DETAIL AND PERSONALITY LATER ON. I’LL LIKELY MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS AS I GO, BUT I’M HAPPY WITH THE FOUNDATION AND EXCITED TO DEVELOP IT FURTHER.

SMART MATERIALS

PRIMARY ASSETS

THIS IS MY DESK, WHICH COMES IN AT 2,560 TRIS. I’VE INSTANCED THE DRAWERS AND SYMMETRIZED SOME PARTS, WHICH HELPED KEEP THE POLY COUNT VERY LOW — GREAT FOR SAVING BUDGET FOR ADDITIONAL PROPS. OVERALL, I’M HAPPY WITH THE TOPOLOGY AND EDGE FLOW, AS THE EDGE LOOPS ARE CLEAN AND EFFICIENT.

HOWEVER, BECAUSE I INSTANCED AND RESIZED THE DRAWERS, THE TEXEL DENSITY ENDED UP A BIT STRETCHED AND UNEVEN. IT’S NOT VERY NOTICEABLE IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER OR UNREAL, WHICH IS GOOD, BUT IT’S SOMETHING I’D LIKE TO IMPROVE. IF I HAVE TIME, I PLAN TO REBAKE THE DESK AND CREATE AN EXTRA DRAWER VARIATION TO AVOID REPETITION AND IMPROVE THE OVERALL TEXTURE CONSISTENCY.

I ENDED UP USING TWO 2K TEXTURE SHEETS FOR THE DESK. GABRIELE MENTIONED THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO USE JUST ONE, BUT I DECIDED TO SPLIT IT INTO TWO BECAUSE THE CAMERA WILL BE FULLY FOCUSED ON THE DESK. I DIDN’T WANT TO LOSE RESOLUTION OR SHARPNESS, AS ANY LOSS IN DETAIL WOULD BE EASY TO NOTICE IN CLOSE-UP SHOTS. IF THIS WERE JUST A BACKGROUND PIECE OF FURNITURE, I AGREE THAT ONE SHEET WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE APPROPRIATE.

TO MAINTAIN QUALITY AND RESOLUTION, I MADE THE DECISION TO PUT THE TOP OF THE DESK ON ONE SHEET AND THE BOTTOM ON ANOTHER. THAT SAID, I’LL ADMIT THE UV MAPS COULD BE PACKED MORE EFFICIENTLY — IT’S SOMETHING I DEFINITELY PLAN TO IMPROVE ON IN FUTURE PROJECTS.

I ADDED A LOT OF SMALL DETAILS IN THE TEXTURING TO GIVE THE DESK MORE CHARACTER AND A SENSE OF NOSTALGIA. THINGS LIKE CLAMP MARKS, LEFTOVER TAPE RESIDUE, SCRATCHES, STAINS, COFFEE RINGS, AND EVEN LITTLE HAMMER DIVOTS ALL CONTRIBUTE SUBTLE NARRATIVE ELEMENTS. THESE IMPERFECTIONS HELP BRING THE DESK TO LIFE. SINCE THE CAMERA WILL BE FULLY FOCUSED ON THE DESK, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE IT AS REALISTIC AND VISUALLY COMPELLING AS POSSIBLE.

THIS IS MY ARTIST’S SWIVEL STOOL, FULLY TEXTURED. I AIMED FOR A WORN LOOK WITHOUT MAKING IT APPEAR TOO DAMAGED. I ADDED SOME CHIPPED EDGES AND SUBTLE ROUGHNESS VARIATION TO SUGGEST USE OVER TIME. THE TEXTURING IS FAIRLY SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE—I DIDN’T WANT THE STOOL TO DRAW ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE DESK, SO I KEPT THE DETAILS MINIMAL AND RESTRAINED 

I WENT BACK AND FIXED SOME OF THE ERRORS I HAD WITH THE DESK. I MADE ANOTHER DRAWER WITH NON-STRETCHED UVS TO ADD VARIATION, SO IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THE SAME DRAWER WAS JUST DUPLICATED. I ALSO ADDED A LITTLE MAGNETIC TOOL HOLDER ON THE SIDE OF THE DESK. THE UVS ARE PACKED MUCH BETTER NOW, AND IT REMINDED ME HOW IMPORTANT IT IS NOT TO SLACK ON DETAILS LIKE THIS. I’M GLAD I TOOK THE TIME TO MAKE THESE FIXES, BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE BOTHERED ME A LOT OTHERWISE. I ALSO IMPROVED SOME OF THE TEXTURES AND REMOVED THE GREEN MATERIAL INSIDE THE DRAWERS, SINCE IT JUST WASN’T WORKING. OVERALL, THE DESK IS MUCH BETTER TECHNICALLY, AND THE HOUR I SPENT FIXING IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH IT.

UV'S BEFORE FIXING

UV'S AFTER FIXING

NOW I HAVE TWO DIFFERENT DRAWER VARIATIONS. I ALSO FIXED A BAKING ISSUE AND ADDED ANOTHER PROP. USUALLY, I DON’T GO BACK AND EDIT PROPS I’VE ALREADY MADE, BUT I SHOULD DO IT MORE OFTEN. AT THE START, I WAS A BIT RUSTY FROM NOT MODELING OR WORKING ALL SUMMER, SO IT’S A GOOD REMINDER THAT NOT EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS FINISHED. I’M GLAD I WENT BACK AND MADE IMPROVEMENTS. 

CRAIG MENTIONED THAT THE WOOD ON MY STOOL SHOULD BE A DIFFERENT COLOUR FROM THE DESK TO ADD MORE VISUAL INTEREST AND VARIATION. IT ALSO MAKES SENSE NARRATIVELY, AS THE CLOCKMAKER PROBABLY BOUGHT THEM SEPARATELY, SO THEY WOULDN’T BE MADE FROM THE SAME TYPE OF WOOD. I TOOK THIS FEEDBACK ON BOARD AND MODIFIED THE TEXTURE.

I ALSO REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF WEAR AFTER REALIZING I HAD ORIGINALLY BASED THE SCRATCHES AND DAMAGE ON ASSUMPTIONS RATHER THAN MY REFERENCE. THE REFERENCE SHOWED THAT VERY LITTLE LIGHT WOOD WAS VISIBLE — INSTEAD, IT HAD MORE INDENTS AND DARKER, GREYED-OUT AREAS FROM AGE AND USE. AFTER ADJUSTING THIS, THE WOOD LOOKED MUCH MORE ACCURATE AND NATURAL.

IN ADDITION, I MADE THE IRON PARTS MORE RUSTY AND GRUNGY TO BETTER MATCH MY REFERENCE MATERIAL. THIS EXPERIENCE REINFORCED HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO REGULARLY REVISIT REFERENCES — YOU OFTEN NOTICE DETAILS YOU MISSED BEFORE, AND THOSE SMALL CHANGES CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO THE FINAL RESULT.

BELOW ARE THE CHANGES I MADE.

THE VICE WAS LOOKING VERY DARK IN MY SCENE AND BLENDING INTO THE BLACK BACKGROUND TOO MUCH. THIS WAS POINTED OUT BY BOTH TEO AND CRAIG. I WENT BACK AND TESTED A FEW DIFFERENT COLORS AND EVENTUALLY SETTLED ON A DARK GREEN. I DIDN'T WANT IT TO STAND OUT TOO MUCH, SO I KEPT IT SUBTLE AND RELATIVELY DARK. I THINK THIS WORKS BETTER, EVEN THOUGH IT IS STILL QUITE DARK. I ALSO FIXED SOME OF THE ROUGHNESS ON THE METAL, AS IT WAS LOOKING TOO SHINY IN UNREAL. I TRIED RED, BUT CRAIG MENTIONED THAT THE SCENE ALREADY LEANS TOWARD ORANGE/RED TONES, WHICH WOULD HAVE MADE THE PALETTE FEEL TOO MONOCHROMATIC. SO I WENT WITH A COOLER GREEN INSTEAD TO CREATE MORE CONTRAST, HELP THE VICE STAND OUT, AND ADD SOME VISUAL VARIATION. 

HERE IS THE UV MAP FOR THE VICE AND MAINSPRING WINDERS. I THINK I DID A REALLY GOOD JOB PACKING THIS ONE — PROBABLY MY BEST UV PACKING YET. THE SPACE IS FULLY OPTIMIZED, AND ALL THE ISLANDS ARE AS STRAIGHT AND CLEAN AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT ALL MY FUTURE UV MAPS TO LOOK LIKE, OR AT LEAST ASPIRE TO — EFFICIENT, NEAT, AND MAXIMIZING EVERY BIT OF TEXTURE SPACE. 

HERE IS THE BAKED LAMP. THE HIGH-POLY VERSION WAS VERY SIMILAR TO THE LOW POLY, BUT IT HELPED TO SMOOTH OUT THE EDGES AND ADD A FEW EXTRA DETAILS, GIVING IT A CLEANER, MORE CHAMFERED LOOK. I DECIDED TO PUT THE LAMP ON ITS OWN 2K TEXTURE SHEET — I WASN’T SURE IF THAT MIGHT BE OVERKILL AT FIRST, BUT IT ACTUALLY WORKED OUT REALLY WELL. THE RESOLUTION FEELS JUST RIGHT, THE TEXEL DENSITY IS RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, AND IT FITS IN NICELY WITH THE DESK ASSET. OVERALL, I’M REALLY PLEASED WITH THE RESULT.

SMALL PROPS

HERE ARE ALL MY PROPS ON MY PACKAGE SHEET. THESE ARE MAINLY TO FILL UP THE SCENE AND ADD VISUAL INTEREST. THEY BRING IN A LOT OF COLOR, WHICH IS REALLY NICE. THESE ACTUALLY TOOK A LONG TIME TO CREATE, AS THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM; HOWEVER, I THINK THE VARIETY AND COLOR DIVERSITY WERE WELL WORTH IT, ESPECIALLY SINCE MY SCENE WAS LACKING SATURATION. OVERALL, THESE TURNED OUT REALLY WELL, AND I’M VERY PROUD OF THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY TOOK A LOT OF TIME. 

FOR ALL THE PACKAGES AND TEXT, I HAD TO MANUALLY CREATE ALL THESE ALPHAS IN PHOTOSHOP. THIS WAS THE TEDIOUS PART; HOWEVER, I BELIEVE IT’S WORTH TAKING THE TIME TO INVEST QUALITY EFFORT INTO YOUR TEXTURES, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE SMALL AND JUST SUPPORTING ASSETS. IF YOU SLACK ON THEM, THEY CAN LOWER THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE PROJECT.

BY CREATING THEM MANUALLY, I HAD FULL CONTROL—I COULD ADD DETAILS, CHANGE WORDS, ETC. I COULD THEN USE THEM AS MASKS IN PAINTER AND ADD ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON TOP, MAKING THEM FULLY ADJUSTABLE.

HERE IS THE PACKED UV MAP FOR THE PACKAGES. THIS IS ANOTHER PACK THAT I TOOK GREAT CARE WITH, MAKING SURE THE LAYOUT WAS CLEAN AND THAT THERE WAS NO WASTED SPACE, AS YOU CAN SEE. 

HERE ARE SOME MORE MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. THERE ISN’T MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THESE, AS THEY ARE ACTUALLY KIND OF BORING. THEIR PACKED UV MAPS ARE BELOW, AND THEY ARE PRETTY SOLID. I COULD DEFINITELY IMPROVE THE TEXTURING OF THE BOTTLES—THIS IS AN ISSUE I KEEP ENCOUNTERING, AND I REALLY NEED TO SPEND TIME UNDERSTANDING GLASS IN UNREAL ENGINE AND HOW TO MAKE IT WORK PROPERLY. 

SMALL MACHINES

THESE ARE MY COOL LITTLE SMALL MACHINES—THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS I REALLY ENJOY MODELLING BECAUSE THEY’RE SO UNIQUE AND INTERESTING. THEY HAVE SO MANY RANDOM, INTRICATE COMPONENTS, AND I JUST REALLY ENJOY CREATING THEM. THESE ARE INDENTRO MACHINES, OR OTHER WATCHMAKING MACHINES.

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO ADD SOME BIGGER PROPS IN SO THE MIDDLE OF THE DESK ISN’T JUST FILLED WITH LOTS OF SMALL OBJECTS. THIS HELPS IMPROVE THE COMPOSITION AND BRINGS IN SOME NICE GOLD ACCENTS ON THE DESK, ADDING MORE VISUAL VARIATION.

I ARRANGED EVERYTHING ON A SHEET ALONG WITH A METAL BOX, A WOODEN BOX, AND A CHISEL HOLDER, ALL PACKED NEATLY. I FELT IT MADE SENSE TO KEEP THE LARGER ASSETS TOGETHER AND THE SMALLER ASSETS TOGETHER FOR BETTER ORGANIZATION.

FOR THE INDENTOR MACHINE, I CREATED THESE ALPHAS MANUALLY IN PHOTOSHOP.
I THEN LAYERED THEM IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER USING A HEIGHT MAP. IT WAS A BIT TEDIOUS TO SET UP, BUT I THINK THE RESULTS TURNED OUT REALLY COOL AND ADDED SOME GREAT EXTRA DETAIL TO THE MODEL.

(THIS ISN’T THE ACTUAL GOLD METAL, BY THE WAY — THE ORIGINAL MAPS WERE LOST.)

REALLY ANNOYINGLY, WHEN I WAS TEXTURING THESE IN PAINTER, MY FILE GOT CORRUPTED.
I HAD JUST FINISHED TEXTURING THE GOLD MACHINES AND HAD SPENT OVER TWO HOURS ON THEM. I REALLY DIDN’T WANT TO REDO EVERYTHING, BUT LUCKILY, I HAD EXPORTED SOME OF THE MAPS EARLIER TO TEST IN UNREAL, SO I STILL HAD THOSE FILES.

I TRIED IMPORTING THEM BACK INTO PAINTER, BUT THEY LOOKED STRANGE AND DIDN’T DISPLAY CORRECTLY. SO, YOU’LL HAVE TO IGNORE HOW THEY LOOK IN PAINTER — AS YOU CAN SEE ABOVE, THEY ACTUALLY LOOK REALLY NICE IN UNREAL.

I THEN WENT ON TO TEXTURE THE BOXES AND THE CHISEL HOLDER, USING MY WOOD SMART MATERIAL AS A BASE.
THESE TURNED OUT QUITE NICE AND WERE FAIRLY QUICK TO COMPLETE. I FOUND A NICE RUSTED METAL SMART MATERIAL ONLINE, WHICH I APPLIED TO THE METAL BOX. I MADE A FEW CHANGES — ADDING SOME DIRT AND REMOVING A FEW LAYERS — TO GET THE LOOK I WANTED.

IN UNREAL, I EXPERIMENTED WITH THE COLOUR. ORIGINALLY, THE BOX WAS AN ORANGE TONE, BUT THAT ADDED TOO MUCH WARMTH TO AN ALREADY VERY WARM COLOUR PALETTE. TEO MENTIONED THAT I NEEDED MORE SATURATION AND COLOUR VARIATION, SO I DECIDED TO GO WITH A CONTRASTING GREEN THAT HAD A BIT MORE SATURATION. I DIDN’T PUSH IT TOO FAR, AS I DIDN’T WANT IT TO DISTRACT FROM THE WATCHES.

I THINK THIS CHANGE ADDS A LOT TO THE SCENE — IT BREAKS UP THE COLOUR PALETTE NICELY AND INTRODUCES MORE DEPTH AND VISUAL INTEREST.

UV MAPS

THE PROBLEM WITH THE PAINTER FILE CRASHING IS THAT I NOW HAVE TWO MAPS FOR EVERYTHING — ONE WITH ALL THE GOLD TEXTURES AND ONE WITH ALL THE OTHER TEXTURES.
I NEED TO TRY AND SEAM THESE TOGETHER IN PHOTOSHOP, AS IT’S A HUGE WASTE OF RESOURCES TO HAVE TWO SEPARATE MATERIALS IN UNREAL ENGINE.

IT’S REALLY FRUSTRATING, BUT THIS IS THE KIND OF PROBLEM YOU RUN INTO ALL THE TIME WHEN WORKING WITH COMPUTERS.

WHEN CLEANING UP AND ORGANISING MY UNREAL SCENE, I WENT BACK AND MERGED MY TEXTURE MAPS TO ENSURE I HAD NO WASTED TEXTURES. I MERGED THEM IN PHOTOSHOP BY MASKING OUT THE AREAS I NEEDED FROM EACH MAP. THIS WAS ACTUALLY QUITE EASY AND DEFINITELY WORTH THE EXTRA 15 MINUTES IT TOOK. 

UV'S AND BAKED MAPS

PRIMARY ASSETS

THIS ASSET IS 1,364 TRIS, WHICH IS RELATIVELY LOW. I CREATED TWO DRAWER VARIATIONS THAT I COULD INSTANCE IN-ENGINE, AND I DUPLICATED AND ROTATED THE HANDLE TO GIVE THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT HANDLES. THIS APPROACH HELPED SAVE TRIS AND WAS VERY EFFECTIVE.

THE PAPER COULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN OPTIMISED BETTER, AS WELL AS THE HANDLE, BUT OVERALL 1,364 TRIS IS QUITE GOOD FOR THIS ASSET. I MADE THE PAPER UVS LARGER TO ACHIEVE A SHARPER, MORE READABLE RESULT. I MANUALLY SCALE MY UVS TO MAXIMISE RESOLUTION ON PARTS THAT WILL BE SEEN MORE OFTEN OR WHERE MORE DETAILS ARE BAKED DOWN.

I USED THESE PAINT SPLATTER ALPHAS TO PROJECT ONTO MY MESH. THIS GAVE ME CONTROL OVER THE PAINT SPLATTERS AND HELPED ME ACHIEVE A MORE NATURAL LOOK WITHOUT OVERDOING IT. I REALLY LIKE HOW THESE TURNED OUT AND THINK THEY ADD A LOT OF DETAIL AND NARRATIVE TO MY PROP — LIKE, HOW DID THE PAINT GET THERE? IT’S CLEAR THAT THE BOX HAS BEEN WELL-USED AND WELL-LOVED.

I PUT THEM ALL ON A 2048 SHEET. THE PACKING IS PRETTY GOOD AND CONSISTENT, SO I’M HAPPY WITH IT. THE ONLY THING I NOTICED WHEN I PUT THEM IN UNREAL WAS A NOTICEABLE—THOUGH NOT HUGE—DIFFERENCE IN RESOLUTION. THE TOOLS HAD MUCH MORE RESOLUTION AND DETAIL THAN THE DESK, SO I ENDED UP SCALING THE MAP SIZE DOWN TO 1024 TO FIX THE ISSUE. WE AREN’T ALLOWED HIGHER THAN 2048 SHEETS, AND I WANTED TO SCALE UP THE DESK, BUT MY ONLY OPTION WAS TO BRING EVERYTHING DOWN TO 1024. 

I USED LOTS OF ALPHAS AND PROJECTED THEM TO ACHIEVE THE PEELING-PAINT EFFECT, SO EVERYTHING WAS DONE MANUALLY. IT TOOK A LOT OF TIME, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY QUITE FUN. I TRIED TO ADD AS MUCH VARIATION AS POSSIBLE, THOUGH IT DID GET A BIT TEDIOUS AFTER A WHILE. OVERALL, I THINK THEY’RE PRETTY SOLID — THEY LOOK REALLY NICE IN UNREAL, SO I’M HAPPY. BESIDES, THEY’RE GOING TO BE QUITE SMALL IN-GAME ANYWAY, SO I SHOULDN’T GET TOO HUNG UP ON THEM. 

I SPENT A BIT OF TIME PLAYING AROUND IN UNREAL WITH THE BLUEPRINT FOLLOWING THE PICTURE MY LECTURER GAVE ME ON ENNUMERATORS. I WAS REALLY CONFUSED ON WHY IT WASNT WORKING AND ASKED JESSE FOR SOME HELP. APPARENLTY EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT I HAD JUST PUT THE GRAPH IN THE WRONG VIEWPOPRT WHICH WAS QUITE. ANNOYING BUT NOW I WONT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. THE B LUEPRINT WAS REALLY COOL AND IT WAS A GOOD SMALL WAY TO INTRODUCE ME TO BLUEPRINTS. THIS MAKES SETTING UP THE UINREAL SCENE SO MUCH EASER.

SPARE PARTS

OVERALL, I THINK THESE BOTH CAME OUT REALLY EFFECTIVE. THE PAINTER MATERIAL AND GOLD MATERIAL TURNED OUT REALLY NICE. I CREATED MY OWN GOLD SMART MATERIAL WHILE WORKING ON THE SMALL INDENTOR MACHINES, AND THEN APPLIED AND SLIGHTLY MODIFIED IT FOR THESE ASSETS. THIS SAVED A LOT OF TIME IN THE TEXTURING PROCESS.

I MADE ALL OF THE SMALL TEXT IN PHOTOSHOP AND USED THEM AS ALPHAS AGAIN. I’M SUPER, SUPER PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME. THEY DON’T RENDER QUITE AS WELL IN UNREAL — MOST LIKELY BECAUSE THEY’RE METALLIC AND A LOT OF THE DETAIL IS BAKED INTO HEIGHT INFORMATION. HOWEVER, BY BOOSTING THE NORMALS AND MAKING THE METAL SLIGHTLY DARKER, I WAS ABLE TO IMPROVE THE READ SIGNIFICANTLY.

THEY DON’T NEED TO BE PERFECT SINCE THEY’RE RELATIVELY SMALL, BUT I JUST LOVE TEXTURING INTERESTING AND UNIQUE PROPS LIKE THESE. IT MAKES THE WHOLE PROCESS WORTH IT.

THESE ARE THE UVS AND THE BAKED MESH MAPS. I THINK I CAN SAY I PACKED THIS VERY WELL — PRIORITIZING AND SCALING UP THE AREAS THAT NEEDED MORE RESOLUTION AND BAKED DETAIL, SUCH AS THE WATCHES AND WATCH FACES.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE BAKES CAME OUT REALLY CLEAN. THIS IS A STRONG EXAMPLE OF GOOD UV UNWRAPPING AND EFFICIENT PACKING PRACTICE.

THE OTHER PROPS ON MY WATCH SHEET INCLUDE A LOT OF SMALL SPARE PARTS — NUTS AND BOLTS, WATCH CASINGS, WATCH STRAPS, RANDOM TOOL ENDS, AND OTHER LITTLE BITS AND BOBS THAT BRING THE SCENE TO LIFE AND FILL THE BOXES.

I MADE ALL OF THEM TO BE MULTI-PURPOSE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE WATCH CASING IS SEPARATE, SO IT CAN EITHER LOOK LIKE A LOOSE PART ON THE TABLE OR BE PART OF A FINISHED WATCH WITH THE STRAP ATTACHED. THIS APPROACH GIVES ME LOTS OF VARIATION USING THE SAME MESHES. IN TOTAL ALL THESE MESHES COST 6,699 TRIS

I MODELLED THESE GLASSES RIGHT AT THE START OF THE BLOCK. THEY TURNED OUT REALLY NICE, AND I THINK THEY’RE A UNIQUE AND INTERESTING ASSET. HOWEVER, THE BUDGET JUST DIDN’T ALLOW ME TO TAKE THEM ANY FURTHER. THEY WOULD HAVE COST QUITE A LOT OF TRIANGLES SINCE THEY INCLUDE A LOT OF SMALL DETAILS THAT REQUIRE GEOMETRY, SO BAKING THEM DOWN WASN’T REALLY AN OPTION.

I GUESS THIS IS PART OF THE WORKFLOW — DECIDING WHAT TO KEEP AND WHAT TO CUT. IN INDUSTRY, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A TIGHT POLY BUDGET, AND THAT DIRECTLY RELATES TO COST AND PERFORMANCE. ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, CUTTING THEM ALSO SAVED ME A LOT OF TIME, AS RETOPPING AND UNWRAPPING WOULD HAVE TAKEN A WHILE. I CAN ALWAYS COME BACK AND FINISH THEM OFF LATER WHEN I HAVE THE CHANCE.

ALPHAS

3DS MAX MESHES

FOR THE COGS AND GEARS, I CREATED THEM AS ALPHAS. I HAD INITIALLY MODELED THEM AND PLANNED TO UNWRAP THEM, BUT SINCE THEY’RE SO SMALL, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A WASTE OF GEOMETRY—AND I DIDN’T HAVE THE BUDGET FOR THAT ANYWAY. AFTER DISCUSSING IT WITH CRAIG, WE AGREED THAT THE BEST APPROACH WAS TO MAKE THEM AS ALPHAS INSTEAD.

I TOOK THE MODELS I HAD ALREADY MADE, LAID THEM OUT ON A SQUARE SHEET, AND BAKED THEM ONTO A PLANE IN PAINTER. I THEN USED THE BAKED OPACITY MASK TO CUT OUT ALL THE COGS AND CLOCK HANDLES. THIS METHOD WORKED REALLY EFFECTIVELY. AFTER THAT, I ADDED MY SMART GOLD MATERIAL AND INTRODUCED SOME COLOUR VARIATION, AND THEY WERE GOOD TO GO.

THIS OPTIMISATION REDUCED THE GEOMETRY FROM A FEW THOUSAND TRIANGLES DOWN TO JUST 20. THEY LOOK SOLID IN THE SCENE WITH NO ISSUES AT ALL—DEFINITELY A SMART AND EFFICIENT DECISION.

HERE THEY ARE IN MY SCENE. SOMETIMES THE LIGHT CAN INTERACT WITH THEM A LITTLE WEIRDLY; HOWEVER, AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY ACTUALLY LOOK REALLY, REALLY GOOD, AND I’M REALLY GLAD THEY CAME OUT SUCCESSFULLY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPRESSIVE CONSIDERING THEY COST ONLY 1 POLY EACH, AND I CAN SCATTER THEM EVERYWHERE IN THE SCENE. 

TILING TEXTURES

I MADE TWO TILING MATERIALS FOR THIS PROJECT — THE FLOOR AND THE WALL. I ALSO CREATED A WOOD MATERIAL EARLIER, WHICH I USED IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER FOR THE DESK. HOWEVER, THESE TWO WERE THE MAIN TILING TEXTURES I USED AS REPEATING MATERIALS.

I WISH I HAD MADE MORE TEXTURES, AS SUBSTANCE DESIGNER IS DEFINITELY A PROGRAM I NEED MORE PRACTICE WITH. FOR THIS PROJECT, I CREATED A BRICK-AND-PLASTER WALL MATERIAL, AS WELL AS A CRACKED TILE MATERIAL FOR THE FLOOR. THIS SETUP ALSO ALLOWED ME TO PRACTICE VERTEX PAINTING ON THE WALL.

I MADE TWO TILING TEXTURES FOR THIS PROJECT. THIS ONE IS THE FLOOR MATERIAL — A CRACKED TILE MATERIAL. IT WAS ANOTHER GUMROAD TUTORIAL THAT I FOLLOWED AND MODIFIED TO MY LIKING. (https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/7ov3G/damaged-pavement-stone-khayyam-naghiyev?utm_source=artstation&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=homepage&utm_term=marketplace) 

I’M NOT COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH HOW IT TURNED OUT. THE MATERIAL STARTED LOOKING A BIT OFF, ESPECIALLY WITH THE BASE COLOR AND THE DIRT/MOSS BUILDUP. I THINK IF I HAVE TIME, I’LL GO BACK AND REVISIT IT TO SEE WHAT WENT WRONG. FOR NOW, THOUGH, IT WORKS WELL ENOUGH, AND SINCE IT’S NOT A MAJOR FOCAL POINT, I’M GOING TO LEAVE IT AS IS.

I TRIED A FEW DIFFERENT CRACKED TILE PATTERNS, SUCH AS HEXAGONS AND BEVELED SQUARES. HOWEVER, THE SQUARES ENDED UP LOOKING THE BEST, SO I DECIDED TO STICK WITH THE ORIGINAL DESIGN.

I MODIFIED THE TILES A BIT BECAUSE I FELT THE YELLOW TILE STOOD OUT WAY TOO MUCH AND MADE THE MATERIAL LOOK OVERLY TILED. AFTER MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS, IT NOW LOOKS MUCH CLEANER AND LESS REPETITIVE, AS WELL AS A BIT LESS STYLISED.

I ALSO REMOVED SOME OF THE WHITE EDGE MASKS, AS I FELT THEY WERE CONTRIBUTING TO THE STYLISED LOOK. I THINK IT WORKS MUCH BETTER NOW OVERALL.

AS SUGGESTED BY MY LECTURER, I FADED OUT THE TILES TO CREATE A SMALL DIORAMA EFFECT. I THINK THIS LOOKS REALLY COOL; HOWEVER, IT WAS APPEARING TOO UNIFORM AND MAN-MADE, SO I WENT BACK AND CRACKED SOME OF THE TILES AND BROKE A FEW PIECES OFF TO CREATE MORE ORGANIC, NATURAL SHAPES. I ALSO ADDED A SPOTLIGHT TO GIVE A FADED LIGHTING EFFECT, WHICH WORKS QUITE WELL. 

I MADE THIS MATERIAL RIGHT AT THE START OF THE BLOCK, HOWEVER WHEN I WENT TO OPEN IT AGAIN LATER ON THE FILE HAD CORRUPTED AND BROKEN, SO I ENDED UP HAVING TO MAKE IT AGAIN WHICH WAS ACTUALLY QUITTE GOOD AS I FELT I HAD MORE TIME TO FOCUS ON THE MAERIAL AND APPLY MORE TO IT. I THINK THE REDONE TURNED OUT MUCH BETTER SO IT WAS GOOD PRACTICE. 

I FOLLOWED THIS GUMROAD VIDEO (https://miladkambari.gumroad.com/l/cmwwn?layout=profile) I HAD BOUGHT TO MAKE THIS BRICK MATERIAL, IT STARTED BY GOING THROUGH THE BRICK HEIGHT MAP, THEN BASE COLOUR AND FINALLY ROUGHNESS. IT THEN SHOWED. VARIATIONS OF THE BROICK WALL WITH BRICKS REMOVED AND ALSO PLASTERED BRICKS. ONCE I HAD FINISHED. FOLLOWING THE TUTORIAL I MODIFIED IT TO FIT MY SCENE BETTER, HAVING ONLY BITS OF PLASTER ASWELL AS. THE REMOVED BRICKS. I ADDED MORE NORMAL DETIALS. OVERALL ITS A PRETTY STRONG MATERIAL. I. THINK THE BRICK BASE COLOUR COULD USE A BIT MORE VARIATION AS IT LOOKS SLIGHTLY STYLISED RIGHT NOW. I THINK BOTH THE PASTER AND BRICK COULD DO WITH SOME MORE NORMAL INFORMATION AND NOISE TO ADD SOME EXTRA REALISM. HOWEVER OVERALL I THINK ITS A SRONG MATERIAL. IT FITS REALLY WELL IN MY SCENE AND I AM REALLY HAPPY WITH THE RESULT. 

I THEN TRIED VERTEX PAINTING FOR THE FIRST TIME. IN THE TUTORIAL I MENTIONED, HE GOES THROUGH BRICK-WALL VARIATIONS, ONE OF THEM BEING PLASTER. IN HIS SETUP, HE JUST MASKS OUT SECTIONS OF THE BRICK HE WANTS TO REVEAL. HOWEVER, I WANTED TO VERTEX-PAINT THE PLASTER IN AND HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER HOW MUCH BRICK AND PLASTER APPEARS IN MY SCENE.

I REMOVED THE MASK SO I HAD THE PLASTER MATERIAL AND THE BRICK MATERIAL AS TWO SEPARATE MATERIALS, THEN FOLLOWED MY LECTURER’S VIDEO ON VERTEX PAINTING AND SET IT UP. I’VE ACTUALLY NEVER DONE VERTEX PAINTING BEFORE, AND IT WAS SURPRISINGLY EASY — PLUS IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD. IT’S DEFINITELY SOMETHING I CAN ADD TO MY WORKFLOW AND USE IN FUTURE PROJECTS.

THIS WAS A GOAL FOR ME IN THIS PROJECT, SINCE I KNOW IT’S SUCH A USEFUL SKILL TO HAVE, SO I’M REALLY GLAD I MANAGED TO WORK IT IN.

OVERALL TRI-BUDGET

OVERALL, MY TRIANGLE COUNT ADDS UP TO 49,874. THAT’S WITH THE FLOOR TILES BEING SQUARE, WHICH I’LL CHANGE BACK TO FOR SUBMISSION. I HONESTLY CAN’T BELIEVE I MANAGED TO STAY WITHIN BUDGET!

I DID HAVE TO GO BACK AND OPTIMISE SOME OF MY PROPS, AS I THINK WHEN I FIRST STARTED, I WAS JUST GETTING BACK INTO THE WORKFLOW AND ENDED UP MAKING A LOT OF MY MODELS TOO HIGH POLY. CONSIDERING THE SHEER NUMBER OF PROPS IN MY SCENE, I’M REALLY PROUD THAT I’VE MANAGED TO STAY WITHIN BUDGET—ESPECIALLY SINCE I’VE GONE OVER A FEW TIMES IN THE PAST.

HERE’S A BREAKDOWN OF THE TRI COUNT BELOW:

WHEN ORGANISING MY SCENE I REALISED I HAD MISSED OF ALL MY MISCELEANOUS PROPS THAT ADD AN EXTRA 4,865 TRIS TO MY BUDGET :( THIS IS QUITE SAD AS I REALLY THOUGHT I WAS IN MY BUDGET. HOWEVER WE GET A 10% LEANEANCY ON THE BUDGET SO IM NOT TOO WORRIED. I DONT THINK ITS TOO BAD THAT IM OVER BUDGET AS I HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF PROPS IN THEORY I COULD REDUCE EDGE LOOPS ELSEWHERE HOWEVER, I THINK IM JUST GOING TO LEAVE IT

THIS SHOWS ALL OF MY PROPS AND HOW MUCH THEY COST IN TRIANGLES. I THINK THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED IS THE LAMP — IT’S THE ONLY ASSET THAT FEELS A BIT HIGH COMPARED TO THE OTHERS. HOWEVER, SINCE THE LAMP IS VERY CIRCULAR AND ROUNDED, I HAVE TO GIVE MYSELF A BIT OF LEEWAY THERE.

OVERALL, I THINK THIS IS A PRETTY SOLID TRI COUNT. I TRIED TO OPTIMISE EVERYTHING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT CREATING ANY VISIBLE FACETING.

UNREAL ENGINE

I SET UP A SMALL DUST NIAGARA PARTICLE SYSTEM TO ADD SOME AMBIENCE TO MY SCENE. I PAIRED THIS WITH A BIT OF FOG IN THE HEIGHT FOG VOLUME. THERE ISN’T TOO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT IT, AS IT’S VERY SUBTLE AND YOU WOULDN’T NOTICE IT STRAIGHT AWAY. I FOLLOWED A YOUTUBE TUTORIAL TO SET IT UP USING A DUST IMAGE I FOUND ONLINE. I THINK THIS ADDS A NICE, SUBTLE DETAIL AND GIVES THE SCENE MORE OF A DUSTY WORKSHOP VIBE. 

THIS IS MY LIGHTING SETUP. I’VE GONE FOR A VERY STRONG SPOTLIGHT SHINING THROUGH THE WINDOW TO CAST SOME NICE SHADOWS ONTO THE DESK AND TO LIGHT UP THE MAIN AREA. I THEN ADDED A LARGE RECT LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE THE PROPS MAINLY ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DESK AND TO SOFTEN THE SHADOWS. I ALSO ADDED A PLANE BEHIND THE WINDOW WITH A VERY LOW EMISSIVE VALUE TO BRING IN A SOFTER LIGHT AND TO ACT AS A BACKGROUND SOURCE FOR THE WINDOW.

I THINK THIS SETUP WORKS REALLY WELL. I REALLY LIKE THE STRONG SHADOWS FROM THE BLINDS AND WINDOW—THEY DRAW THE VIEWER’S EYE STRAIGHT TO THE DESK AND ALSO TO THE STOOL WITH THE PAINT ON IT.

THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DESK WAS REALLY, REALLY DARK, AND I WAS LOSING THE PROPS I HAD SPENT TIME MAKING FOR THE SCENE. I DECIDED TO ADD A VERY SMALL, LOW-INTENSITY RECT LIGHT ON THAT SIDE TO BRIGHTEN IT UP A LITTLE. NOW YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE PROPS I PLACED THERE, AND I THINK IT LOOKS MUCH BETTER.

THIS IS MY LIGHTING COMPLEXITY. WHEN I KEEP THE SPOTLIGHT IN, THE LIGHTING COMPLEXITY BECOMES REALLY BAD. THIS IS A BIT ANNOYING, AS I WAS USING THE SPOTLIGHT JUST TO BRIGHTEN THE WATCH SLIGHTLY. WITHOUT IT, THE WATCH GETS LOST IN THE STRONG SHADOWS CAST BY THE WINDOW. I DECIDED TO KEEP THE SPOTLIGHT BUT TURNED IT DOWN REALLY LOW SO THAT IT LIGHTS THE WATCH WITHOUT MAKING THE SCENE TOO COMPLEX.

THIS WAS MY FIRST LIGHTING PASS. IT’S PRETTY GOOD, BUT EVERYTHING FEELS A BIT WASHED OUT. THE DETAILS AREN’T VERY SHARP, AND THE LIGHTING ISN’T STRONG ENOUGH IN MY OPINION. TO BE FAIR, I DIDN’T END UP CHANGING IT TOO DRASTICALLY. I ALSO DIDN’T HAVE A POST-PROCESS VOLUME IN MY SCENE YET.

HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT MY POST-PROCESS VOLUME IS DOING QUITE A LOT. IT’S MAINLY BEING USED FOR EXPOSURE, SINCE MY LIGHTING WAS ORIGINALLY FAR TOO DARK AND DRAMATIC. I ALSO EXPERIMENTED WITH ADJUSTING THE GLOBAL SATURATION IN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND SHADOWS—PUSHING THE HIGHLIGHTS SLIGHTLY MORE RED AND GIVING THE SHADOWS A COOLER TONE.

I ADDED SOME BLOOM, A VIGNETTE, AND A FEW OTHER EFFECTS. I ALSO SHARPENED THE SCENE A LITTLE, AND PLACED ANOTHER SMALL POST-PROCESS VOLUME AROUND JUST THE DESK PROPS SO THAT WHEN YOU ZOOM IN, THE AREA BECOMES SLIGHTLY BRIGHTER AND A BIT SHARPER.

I THINK THE SHARPENING IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE I HAVE SO MANY SMALL DETAILS. IT HELPS PREVENT THEM FROM GETTING WASHED OUT AND KEEPS THEIR SILHOUETTES CLEAR, PARTICULARLY WHEN VIEWED FROM FARTHER AWAY.

A LOT OF MY PROPS DECIDED TO UP AND LEAVE MY SCENE, SO I HAD TO REPLACE EVERYTHING—THAT’S WHY IT LOOKS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. YOU CAN SEE I ENDED UP ADDING SOME PROPS IN THE DRAWERS TO INCLUDE A FEW EXTRA ELEMENTS. OVERALL, I AM SO PROUD OF THIS SCENE. IT’S SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT FROM MY SCENE LAST BLOCK. I MET PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE GOALS I SET FOR MYSELF BEFORE STARTING THIS PROJECT, WHICH FEELS REALLY REWARDING. THE ONLY THING I DIDN’T TRY WAS HOUDINI, WHICH I WAS ADVISED AGAINST BY MY LECTURERS BECAUSE IT’S SUCH A NEW AND COMPLEX SOFTWARE. 

POST MORTEM

I BEGAN THIS PROJECT WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH, GATHERING REFERENCES AND LOOKING THROUGH 80LVL ARTICLES TO ENSURE I HAD A CLEAR VISION. I THINK THIS WAS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THE PROJECT TURNED OUT SO SUCCESSFULLY. I KNEW MY AIMS, I KNEW THE STYLE AND ATMOSPHERE I WANTED TO CREATE, AND I COULD FOCUS DIRECTLY ON THAT GOAL. IT ALSO HELPED ME KEEP THE SCOPE SMALL WHILE MAINTAINING HIGH QUALITY—SOMETHING ONE OF OUR INDUSTRY TALKS REALLY EMPHASISED WHEN DISCUSSING THE TRIANGLE OF TIME, SCOPE, AND QUALITY. YOU CAN ONLY PICK TWO.

THE BRIEF WAS “CAPTAIN’S TABLE,” SO THE SCENE NEEDED TO BE CENTRED AROUND THE DESK. I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE THAT AREA AS STRONG AS POSSIBLE. INSTEAD OF SPREADING MY TIME TOO THIN ACROSS THE WHOLE ROOM, I FOCUSED MY EFFORTS ON THE DESK AND ENSURED IT WAS HIGH QUALITY. I ALSO SET CLEAR GOALS AND REFLECTED ON MY FEEDBACK THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, WHICH MASSIVELY IMPROVED MY ENVIRONMENT—SO THANK YOU TO MY LECTURERS. I THINK I ACHIEVED THE LIVED-IN, CHAOTIC BUT CREATIVE, DIY VIBE I ENVISIONED, AND IT’S SO SATISFYING SEEING THAT VISION COME TO LIFE.

I MANAGED MY TIME REALLY WELL TOO—BALANCING A JOB, SPORTS, AND A CONSISTENT WORKFLOW. THIS APPROACH WORKS BEST FOR ME BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN PUT ENOUGH EFFORT INTO MY WORK WITHOUT RUSHING OR STRESSING.

MODELLING

MY MODELLING STARTED OFF A BIT ROCKY BECAUSE I DIDN’T FULLY KNOW WHAT I WANTED THE SCENE TO LOOK LIKE. I HAD TO TRUST THE PROCESS. HAVING TWO MAIN REFERENCES WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL BECAUSE THEY GUIDED THE SCENE AND GAVE ME A CLEAR DIRECTION SO I DIDN’T GET LOST.

SOME OF THE MODELS I MADE AT THE START OF THE BLOCK WERE MUCH TOO HIGH POLY, SO I HAD TO GO BACK AND FIX THEM. THAT WAS A BIT ANNOYING, BUT I WAS RUSTY AFTER SUMMER. OVERALL, I REALLY TRIED TO OPTIMISE TO STAY WITHIN BUDGET, THOUGH I KNEW IT WOULD BE HARD BECAUSE THE SCENE IS SO DENSELY POPULATED.

I THOUGHT I WAS IN BUDGET UNTIL I REALISED I HAD LEFT OUT A BUNCH OF PROPS, WHICH PUT ME AT 54,000 TRIS—SO ABOUT 4K OVER. HONESTLY, THAT’S NOT TOO BAD, ESPECIALLY WITH THE 10% LENIENCY (UP TO 55K) OUR LECTURERS GIVE US. I’M PROUD I KEPT IT THAT LOW FOR SUCH A DETAILED SCENE. I’M GLAD I SET THAT OPTIMISATION GOAL AND FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH IT.

ONE AREA I COULD IMPROVE NEXT TIME IS MY 3DS MAX ORGANISATION. MY SCENE WAS VERY CHAOTIC AND HARD TO NAVIGATE SOMETIMES.

TEXEL DENSITY

THIS IS THE MAIN AREA I COULD HAVE IMPROVED UPON. THE TEXEL DENSITY TOOL I USUALLY USE WASN’T WORKING, WHICH MEANT I HAD TO DO EVERYTHING BY EYE. I STARTED BY SETTING THE TEXEL DENSITY ON MY DESK TO GIVE ME A BASELINE, AND THEN I MATCHED ALL MY OTHER UNWRAPS AND DENSITIES TO THAT. I KNOW THIS ISN’T THE CORRECT WORKFLOW, BUT I DIDN’T HAVE MANY OTHER OPTIONS. I THINK IT STILL WORKED REASONABLY WELL AS LONG AS I MADE SURE EVERYTHING LOOKED CONSISTENT.

I USUALLY MANUALLY SCALE MY UVS IN AREAS WHERE I WANT EXTRA DETAIL OR BETTER BAKED INFORMATION. HOWEVER, ONCE I PUT EVERYTHING INTO UNREAL, I COULD SEE THAT SOME TEXEL DENSITIES WERE EITHER TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW. MY DESK NEEDED TO BE PUSHED TO 4K TO MATCH THE REST OF THE PROPS ON THE DESK—OR EVERYTHING ELSE COULD HAVE BEEN LOWERED. I KNOW THAT IN A GAME, A DESK WOULDN’T BE 4K; THAT’S OBVIOUSLY TOO HIGH. BUT FOR A PORTFOLIO PIECE, AND WITH THE WHOLE SCENE CENTRED AROUND THE DESK, I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE HIGH RESOLUTION FOR QUALITY PURPOSES. IT COULD ALWAYS BE REDUCED IF THIS WERE A GAME ASSET.

THE SAME APPLIED TO MY HANDLES, BUT IN THAT CASE THEY LOOKED TOO SHARP AND CRISP, SO I LOWERED THEM TO A 1K SHEET. OVERALL, I THINK MY UV PACKING HAS IMPROVED MASSIVELY. I PUT REAL EFFORT INTO MAKING SURE THE PACKS WERE CLEAN, LOGICAL, AND OPTIMISED. HOWEVER, MY TEXEL DENSITY DEFINITELY NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, AND IT’S SOMETHING I NEED TO PAY MUCH CLOSER ATTENTION TO IN THE NEXT BLOCK.

TEXTURING

I THINK TEXTURING IS WHERE I IMPROVED THE MOST. I REALLY TOOK MY TIME TO NOTICE SMALL DETAILS, ADD STORYTELLING, AND RAISE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF MY ASSETS. I THINK THAT HAS REALLY SHOWN AND TAKEN THE PROJECT TO A HIGHER LEVEL.

REMAKING MY SMART MATERIALS WAS GREAT TOO, AND NOW I CAN ADD THEM TO MY GROWING LIBRARY OF TOOLS. I WATCHED A LOT OF YOUTUBE TUTORIALS AND APPLIED NEW TECHNIQUES, BECAUSE IT’S IMPORTANT NOT TO GET STUCK WORKING THE SAME WAY EVERY TIME.

ONE AREA I CAN STILL IMPROVE IS GLASS. I CAN NEVER GET IT TO LIGHT PROPERLY IN UNREAL, AND I ALWAYS END UP HIDING THE ASSETS. I REALLY WANT TO FIX THIS, SO IT’S SOMETHING I SHOULD PRACTISE OVER READING WEEK SINCE GLASS IS A COMMON MATERIAL AND I CAN’T AVOID IT FOREVER.

TILING TEXTURES

I’M SUPER PROUD OF THE BRICKS AND THE VERTEX PAINTING—THAT WAS ONE OF MY MAIN GOALS TO TRY, AND IT TURNED OUT REALLY SUCCESSFUL. THEY COULD USE A BIT MORE NOISE AND TEXTURE, BUT SHANNON HELPED ME WITH THE DISPLACEMENT IN UNREAL, WHICH MADE THEM FEEL MUCH LESS FLAT. LEARNING VERTEX PAINTING WAS A GREAT SKILL TO ADD TO MY TOOLKIT.

THE CRACKED TILES AREN’T AS STRONG. THEY COULD LOOK MORE REALISTIC, AND MAYBE THE ROUGHNESS OR BASE COLOUR IS THE PROBLEM. THEY LOOK SLIGHTLY STYLISED, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO HURT THE SCENE. STILL, I’M A PERFECTIONIST, AND I KNOW THAT’S SOMETHING I COULD IMPROVE.

LIGHTING

LIGHTING IS SOMETHING I ALWAYS STRUGGLE WITH. I NEVER KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WORKS OR WHAT TO DO. I SET UP MY LIGHTING EARLY IN THE PROJECT BECAUSE I KNEW A STRONG LIGHTING FOUNDATION WOULD HELP, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE BLOCKOUT WAS STILL BASIC. THIS REALLY HELPED KEEP ME MOTIVATED, BECAUSE THE SCENE STARTED LOOKING NICE EARLY ON.

I THINK THE LIGHTING COULD BE SLIGHTLY LESS DARK—MAYBE SOME CONTRASTING COLOURS OR SOMETHING TO ADD MORE VARIATION, THOUGH I’M NOT QUITE SURE. OVERALL, IT’S MUCH BETTER THAN MY PREVIOUS PROJECTS, WHICH IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT.

I USED A THREE-POINT LIGHTING SETUP: A MAIN SPOTLIGHT THROUGH THE WINDOW AS THE SUN, A FILL LIGHT, AND A RECT LIGHT. THIS FELT LIKE A SAFE OPTION TO MAINTAIN GOOD COMPLEXITY. I’M STILL NOT VERY CONFIDENT WITH UNREAL’S LIGHTING SYSTEM, SO IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET ADVICE FROM SOMEONE IN INDUSTRY TO HELP ME IMPROVE IN THIS AREA.

OVERALL, THIS PROJECT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS, AND I CAN PROUDLY SAY I AM REALLY PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME. I LOVE THE OVERALL DESIGN, THE LIVED-IN ATMOSPHERE, AND ALL THE SMALL NARRATIVE ELEMENTS. EVERYTHING IS TEXTURED OR CREATED WITH PURPOSE, AND EVERY ASSET HELPS TELL A STORY. I THINK I HAVE IMPROVED MASSIVELY FROM MY PREVIOUS PROJECT, AND I’VE LEARNT A LOT FROM BUILDING THIS DESK ENVIRONMENT.

THERE ARE STILL PLENTY OF AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, AND I WILL TAKE ALL OF THIS EXPERIENCE WITH ME AS I MOVE INTO MY NEXT PROFESSIONAL PROJECT.