For this Art Fundamentals assignment I had write elaborate answers to the questions provided to show what knowledge I have and whether I know how to apply it in practice.
Knowledge Report
3D Tools
1. Which tools did you use for 3D modelling & UV unwrapping?
To create my 3D models, I usually first created a simple polygon and adjusted the number of subdivisions to fit my needs. Then I move and extrude faces, vertices and edges while looking at the reference material/moodboard to make the model realistic and proportional. I have also used tools such as: multicut, loopcut, bevel, merge, mirror.
I have mostly used automatic UV projection tool and sometimes cube projection. To make it more readable and proportional I have also used unwrapping and unfolding tools. If something still didn’t look the way I wanted it to I had to use Cut and Sew tools.
2. Which different types of textures have you created for your 3D models?
I have used colour, metalness, roughness, normal map, height map and emission textures. When exporting textures to Unreal Engine I had to combine the Ambient Occlusion, Roughness and Metallic maps. A combination of these textures creates a PBR material that looks very realistic.
3. What is baking and how did you make use of it?
Baking is a process of projecting a high poly model onto a low poly model using height maps, normal maps, ambient occlusion maps, etc. to simulate how light would behave if the low poly model had high poly details. I have created high and low poly models which I then exported as .fbx files and baked the high poly model onto the low poly model in substance painter.
4. Which Rendering tools did you use?
I have used Maya built-in renderer, Arnold, Playblast, and Unreal Engine 5 to render out all my projects. I found the Unreal Engine most difficult, but it was most realistic, and it had the most settings to achieve the look I needed; working with it was rewarding.
5. Which problems did you face regarding 3D Modelling, UV mapping, Texturing or rendering and how did you overcome them?
The issue I have encountered is ensuring that the low and high poly models have the same UV wrapping. The high poly model hasn’t always baked properly so I had to remake some of the models and UV map them again.
Additionally, when doing the robot challenge, I couldn’t properly render out the animation in Maya because it would frequently crash, and the colour textures would show up as solid colour. I couldn’t find a solution to these issues, so I had to use blender to render out the animation.
6. How are the tools and techniques you learned and utilised in 3D modelling relevant to the industries?
Maya, Substance Painter and Unreal engine are some of the most used programs in game production because it is a usual pipeline for creating game-ready assets. Knowing these programs and being to work through that pipeline drastically increase the chances of getting a job in the industry.
7. When creating 3D models, UV mapping, Texturing and Rendering, which sources did you use to help better understand the topics, what different perspectives and approaches did you learn or try?
I have used google.com, youtube.com and the material taught in the lessons to find solutions to whatever problems I have encountered and to further learn the topic.
Animation
1. Which animation and rigging tools did you use?
For the first animation challenge I have used basic deformers and keyframed values inside them to create the effect of a cube bouncing between the cubes of jelly. Then I have used playblast to preview how the animation would look after the render. Then I have used Arnold to render out all the frames in my animation and put them in a sequence creating a video file.
For the second animation challenge I have adjusted the origin points of the limbs to animate it properly. Then I keyframed the position and rotation of the limbs to animate it. Then I have used playblast to preview the animation. Unlike in my first animation I have added a denoiser and other imagers for Arnold when rendering it. Then I rendered out all the frames and put them in a sequence creating a video.
For the robot I have created simple bones and the used the bind skin tool to apply the rig to the character. To adjust the animation, I have also used the graph editor.
2. How did you design your animation, what tools did you use? How the design help with your final animation?
I have created mood boards and story boards for my animations using photoshop. This stage was not as useful compared to others because the requirements for the animations wouldn’t be difficult to meet even without planning.
3. Which animation techniques did you use?
I have created a Forward Kinematics rig for my robot Peter and applied it to the 3D model. Then I have keyframed their rotation and location.
4. How are the tools and techniques you learned and utilised in animation relevant to the industries?
In almost any 3D game there is a lot of animation involved to tell the story or visually enhance the experience which is why it is useful to be able to do when you are developing a game.
Since I have know how to animate, use deformers and the graph editor it gives me an advantage if I want to work as a 3D animator.
5. When creating your Rig and Animation, which sources did you use to help better understand the topics, what different perspectives and approaches did you learn or try?
I have mostly used google.com and youtube.com to better understand basic animation skills because google.com can provide quick and relevant results while youtube.com can provide the entire process in a video showing every step in detail.
Visual Effects
1. How did you create your scheduling for your VFX video, and did you stick to your plan? If not, why did that happen and how did you get back on track?
I have created a schedule for my short film in MS Excel and then booked for filming in the greenscreen studio. I did not manage to completely stick to my plan because of other projects requiring my attention, but I managed to complete the pre-production stage before the set deadline for it.
2. What font style and size did you use for your script to mimic industry practice?
I have used Courier New font set to 12 points size to recreate industry practice, I have also tried to keep it under 2 pages as 1 page usually equals to 1 minute of film and I needed to keep the film short.
3. What must be carefully assessed before filming at a location? 4. How are the methods you used relevant to the industry in creating a seamless visual effect?
In pre-production stages the most important assessment is risk assessment. Risk assessment research possible risks of physical injury and property damage and how to prevent it.
4. How are the methods you used relevant to the industry in creating a seamless visual effect?
I have learnt the basics of After Effects such as colour correction, rotoscoping, chroma keying, motion tracking, environment tracking, etc. These are the most frequently used effects in the film which are important to know if you are applying for a job in this industry.
5. When conducting research for your video, what range of sources did you use to better you're understanding and why?
I have used videos from youtube.com to further improve my understanding of the basics and google search when I needed to quickly find anything specific.
Art
1. What referencing style did you use for your research for art?
I have used Harvard referencing system as it is the standard. I have referenced my moodboard using Harvard referencing system.
2. What are the 5 elements you had to focus on when developing your perspective of the image when the character, object and environment is combined?
I had to focus on style, colour, location, composition and purpose of my sketches and the final piece.
I have chosen the oil painting style because I already had experience with it and it doesn’t require many details to create a convincing artwork.
I have mostly used the default photoshop colour swatches as I am more familiar to it and it works great when imitating an oil painting.
Location was decided to be the sky by the fact that the character is piloting a fighter jet.
For composition I had put the character in the centre as it is the main piece that should attract the attention and I tried
3. What research did you conduct to develop your character, object and environment?
I had to find images for the mood board that would allow me to create an original idea. I also had to find a lot of reference images to help me draw the characters more proportionally and realistically.
Game Design
1. What challenges did you discover when trying to make your games ‘fun’ while also remaining challenging for the player?
I found out that making a game challenging while keeping it fair and interesting requires a lot of time and variation in content such as different enemies. Upgrades and other buffs to the player is also an effective way to make the player stick around as it gives the sense of progression which can be addicting if the game itself is good. Also adding different difficulty levels helps to appeal to a larger number of potential players.
2. What challenges did you discover when it came to time management of your final project? Considering (Game Pitch and Final Game Demo)
Sometimes I wanted to add features that were not related to core gameplay or enjoyability of the game and would take more time than the more important ones; so, one of the most useful skills when creating a game in such a short span of time is prioritising the features you need to implement first.
Additionally having multiple projects in parallel with the game jams really force you to fully and quickly switch your attention from one project to another. That makes it more difficult to start the project and to get to the other projects once the game jam ends.
3. In your games jams you were required to get your classmates (peers) to test your games and give you advice on how to improve, how useful did you find this feedback?
I have received bug reports of which I have not aware before and suggestions on how to improve gameplay. This helped me develop a deeper understanding of what my potential target audience might be and what they want if it ever were a full game. It had motivated me to improve the games and my game making skills.
4. In your games jams you had to test some of your classmates (Peers) games to help them improve, but at the same time you could see what they had made how did this help you to improve as a game developer?
There has been a large variety of game genres with many interesting ideas and implementations that if worked further on could become great games.
For example, one of my classmates had used an extremely limited colour palette which made their game stand out and added a retro feel to it which has a certain appeal to it.
Also, my other classmate had used a physics as the base mechanic and appeal for the game which really made it stand out and interesting to play.
This all gave me ideas about which features I might want to add to my game and how could I adopt their practices, fully or partially, to enhance the gameplay or graphics in my own game.
5. Why is important to consider who the game is for when designing a computer game, considering PEGI rating and other demographic restrictions?
Because it affects how large your target audience is and what kind of marketing is required to reach it. If done incorrectly it can result in target audience being uninterested in the game. This can impact the sales of a given game significantly.
6. When doing research for developing your games, why was it important to look for a range of diverse sources? Examples: (Lesson Examples, Online video tutorials, Online forums, Textbooks, Discord Groups or Help Documentation)
I have mostly used Gamemaker documentation, google and youtube to find required information. Gamemaker forums were also useful.
Many times, I had to find a different source of information for a given game mechanic I wanted to add as some sources can be outdated or not comprehensive enough.