MA Games Art and Design

ll University of Hertfordshire, UK ll Environment Game Artist || 23 ||

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Final Major Project: What's next?

Firstly, I plan to gradually remove as many third-party assets as possible so that I can proudly say the entire environment was created by myself. This is not only to ensure that the final scene matches the vision I had at the start of the project, but also to strengthen my accountability and reliability in completing an environment independently.

The next step is to develop additional assets that can enhance and support the storytelling of the environment. At the moment, the scene feels like it is missing unique smaller objects that can stand out to viewers and add more personality to the space.

Following this, I aim to continue building the remaining parts of the shophouse and its surrounding area. Due to time and resource limitations, the exterior could not be completed for this stage of the project, but I believe finishing it would greatly enrich the experience and help better establish the atmosphere of colonial-era Malaya.

As I will be returning to my home country soon, I also plan to take field trips to the places that inspired this project. Surveying actual buildings and environments will help me better capture the essence of the period while also making necessary corrections to improve the historical accuracy of my assets.

Another important task is to seek advice and feedback from fellow Malaysians and Southeast Asians. Their perspectives will be invaluable in ensuring the project feels authentic, respectful, and representative of our shared heritage.

Finally, I want to continue learning new skills and updating this project over time, keeping it aligned with industry standards and modern workflows. By doing so, the Tanah Airku project can remain a strong reflection of my growth and capability as an environment artist.

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Final Major Project: Personal Reflection

Figure 1: Kopitiam (coffee shop) Exterior.

Working on Tanah Airku has been one of the most intense and rewarding learning experiences of my MA. From the first blockout to the final render and blog posts, every stage taught me practical skills and gave me clearer artistic judgement. This project pushed me to combine technical workflows with cultural research and storytelling, and it helped me grow both as an environment artist and as someone who can present and defend their creative choices.

Technically, my confidence with the full high poly to low poly baking pipeline improved substantially. Early on I relied on simple baking defaults and accepted small artefacts. Over time I learned to control the cage and ray distances, to organise my high poly so it projected correctly, and to bake in Substance Painter with appropriate match settings. Practically this meant the ashtray and cup set looked richer than their low poly silhouette warranted, and the visual payoff reinforced the time I spent learning proper workflows. I also became much better at UV layout and texel density planning. I started thinking about which areas the player would view up close and gave those UV islands more space, while keeping overall texel density consistent across interacting assets like the table and chair.

Material work was an area where iteration led to fast wins. I experimented with trim sheets and tile-able textures in the same material by using switch nodes in the material instance. This trick let me reuse a single texture map for more assets while switching behaviour per instance, which saved texture memory and sped up iteration. I also implemented a world aligned and actor position driven tinting system to introduce subtle colour variation across duplicated assets. The cupboard models are a clear beneficiary of this technique. The result is an environment with many repeated models that do not read as obvious copies.

A challenging but highly valuable part of the process was solving the ceiling light and lantern translucency. The light behaved incorrectly at first because I was using the wrong blending mode and shading model combination. Researching the problem on community forums and reading the Unreal documentation on subsurface scattering led to a fix. Applying the correct shader settings made the lantern glow from within and preserved the geometry detail. This episode taught me the importance of knowing exactly how material models interact with engine lighting and how to seek solutions by combining documentation and community knowledge.

Simulation and animation gave the scene life. Cloth simulation for a worker towel and animated curtains required clean colliders and careful subdivision to avoid jitter while keeping performance reasonable. I experimented in Blender, created two cloth variations that read differently on the chair and pathway, and exported the animations to Unreal. The subtle motion breaks the static feel and supports spatial storytelling. During this stage I learned to balance mesh resolution, physics stability and export formats for real time engines.

Feedback and communication were critical to improvement. Community feedback on Polycount and targeted critiques from supervisors helped me refine topology, UV packing and Texel allocation. I practised receiving critique constructively and asking the right questions to get actionable suggestions. this helped in ways that details felt authentic rather than unrealistic.

Project management became a skill I had to deliberately develop. Past projects taught me the cost of over ambition. For Tanah Airku, I used a Gantt chart and Notion to prioritise tasks, to mark stretch goals clearly, and to reassign time when modelling took longer than expected. This practical planning prevented burn out and helped me produce a cleaner final submission. Using Notion to visualise tasks greatly reduced the feeling of being overwhelmed by everything in my head. Having a clear, visualised, and organised list in front of me allowed me to see priorities more easily, focus on what needed to be done first, and then steadily work down the rest.

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Final Major Project: Third Party Assets Usage.

Currently, only two 3D assets are used in the environment: a tin miner’s helmet and a cathedral-styled radio. These assets help fill the space and add distinct character to the interior while maintaining historical accuracy. The limited use of online sourced 3D models was also influenced by time and resource constraints.

To enhance authenticity, several online images such as old portraits, vintage brand logos, and paintings were incorporated into the scene. Some of these images were cropped or adjusted to better suit their intended role within the environment, helping to convey a believable 1930s setting.

Line art patterns were extensively used as masks to create decorative designs, including gold wood carvings on objects, patterns on picture frames, and ornate book title holders. This approach was chosen because my skill set is focused on 3D environment art rather than 2D artist. Some line art was further modified to function as alpha masks, for instance by inverting colours or converting coloured images into black-and-white texture maps, allowing them to be applied effectively to 3D objects.

The promotional video was enhanced with carefully selected sound effects, ambient audio, and background music to reinforce the atmosphere of the scene. A warm, calming jazz track was chosen to complement the inviting kopitiam (coffee shop) environment, while specific sounds, such as the door opening, were edited to synchronize perfectly with the scene’s action, adding a layer of realism and immersion.

The link attached contains all the references of asset used: https://herts365-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/jo24aau_herts_ac_uk/EfZdpyADZt1NkpKn9J4A1L4BC6l7E5zfay7QLRbW4QiWxw?e=drFJOE

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Final Major Project: Lighting, Light Function & Post-processing

Figure 1: Interior Lighting.

The interior lighting was achieved using four point lights placed within each of the ceiling fixtures. A warm yellowish hue was applied to emulate the glow of older incandescent bulbs, helping to reinforce the 1930s Malaya atmosphere. This choice of lighting not only adds authenticity to the period setting but also creates a soft, inviting ambiance that highlights the textures and materials within the space. The distribution of light was carefully balanced to avoid harsh shadows while emphasizing key elements such as the tables, cashier counter, and decorative details, guiding the viewer’s attention naturally throughout the scene.

Figure 2: Exterior Lighting.

The primary exterior lighting comes from the two surname lanterns positioned in front of the windows. Following a similar design approach as the interior lighting, these lanterns provide warm illumination that complements the overall scene. Unlike the electrically powered ceiling lights inside, the lanterns use a traditional lighting method with candles to reflect their historical and cultural significance. To replicate the natural movement of candlelight, a flickering effect was applied to the spotlights using a noise texture, creating a subtle, dynamic glow that enhances the authenticity and atmosphere of the exterior setting.

A large rectangular light was positioned to face the building, casting a soft blue glow to simulate the gentle illumination of the night sky. This subtle bluish tint helps establish the night atmosphere, providing contrast to the warm yellow tones of the interior and lantern lights, and adding depth and realism to the exterior scene.

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Final Major Project: Key Storytelling Area Explained.

Figure 1: Cashier counter.

The layout and design of this scene convey that the owner is prospering from his business, as shown by the numerous cash notes and the account book recording recent transactions. Since electronic calculators were not yet in use, a traditional Chinese abacus would logically be present, reflecting the cashier’s need to accurately calculate large sums of money. The used coffee cup and ashtray add another layer of storytelling, suggesting the cashier’s stress and reliance on smoking and coffee to stay alert, as precision in recording cash flow leaves no room for error.

Figure 2: Tin miner's table.

Even before British colonisation, Chinese migrants had already settled in Malaya to work in the flourishing tin mining industry. When the British later introduced modern Western technologies, these workers were compelled to adapt in order to stay competitive. This is symbolised here by the safety helmets placed on the table. The presence of the iconic “Good Morning” towels, commonly worn by labourers to absorb sweat during demanding physical work, reinforces the identity of the space. In this scene, they are draped over the chairs, stained to reflect the exhausting and dirty nature of their labour. Much like the previous setting, traces of coffee cups and cigarettes suggest the workers’ reliance on small comforts to relieve stress and fatigue. The newspaper, designed in reference to the Malaya Tribune, the first English language daily established in Singapore and circulated to Malaya by the 1920s, further grounds the scene in historical context, highlighting the curiosity these workers may have had toward current affairs.

Figure 3: Student's table.

In figure 3, a bottle of cola is shown spilled over a mathematics homework sheet. The spill is intentionally placed to suggest that the student may have done this on purpose, making the homework too wet and damaged to complete. Cola bottles are used instead of coffee because young students are more likely to enjoy sweet drinks. The abacus is included as a learning tool, helping the student to understand mathematical concepts visually.

Throughout the production phase, I felt increasingly confident in my ability to tell a story using only a few assets. This process taught me how to focus on the placement, composition, and subtle details of each element to convey meaning effectively. I learned that even minimal objects, when thoughtfully arranged, can communicate character, mood, and narrative without overwhelming the scene. This experience helped me understand the power of visual storytelling and reinforced the importance of intentionality in every design choice.

References:

Economy History Malaysia. (n.d.) EARLY 20TH CENTURY TIN MINING DEVELOPMENT. Economy History Malaysia. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ehm.my/publications/articles/about-tin-mining. (Accessed: 7 August 2025)

Lee, G. (2021). Malaya Tribune. NLB. [Online]. Available at: https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=ec208256-2e7a-4a5f-a6e0-118de22bf924. (Accessed: 7 August 2025)

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Final Major Project: Exterior Research and Modelling Part 3.

Figure 1: Lantern References.

There are two types of long lanterns: blessing lanterns and surname lanterns. I chose to use two identical surname lanterns for symmetry. The surname lantern displays the family surname and its origins. The black character represents the family’s surname, while the red character means “mansion” or “residence.” Together, they signify “The residence of the [Surname] family.” Traditionally, shophouses have a shop on the ground floor, while the owner’s family lives on the upper floor and at the back.

Figure 2-4: Final surname lantern appearance.

Several proverbs were added to the lantern, as seen in Figure 3, reflecting the designs of original surname lanterns. Additionally, a Chinese-style painting by Zhang Jin, sourced online, was incorporated into the lantern to match references where a painting is also typically visible.

Figure 5: Lantern Mask.

The lantern’s internal bamboo frame mesh was not thick enough for the light to cast realistic shadows, so a mask was used to simulate this effect. The mask was designed so that the black areas remain solid and do not allow light to shine through. The bottom part of the lantern appears brighter because the light source is positioned there, while the upper part is darker. The support frame mask was created using the thickness map. Additionally, the bottom portions of the two large mandarin characters were faded out to preserve their reddish colour, preventing them from appearing too dark.

Figure 6: Material Editor for the lantern material.

This material editor setup creates a convincing paper lantern by using the Subsurface shading model. Its visual appearance is defined by a base colour texture and a normal map for surface detail. The subsurface shading model allows the emissive light to penetrate the virtual paper, scatter naturally within it, and be tinted by the paper’s own base colour texture. This texture is multiplied by a mask to darken specific areas via the Subsurface Colour input, creating variation in light absorption. The result is the characteristic soft, diffused, and coloured glow of a real-life paper lantern.

Through this process, I have gained an abundance of new knowledge, not only about Unreal Engine’s material system but also about my ancestors, cultural heritage, and traditional craftsmanship. Each small research step has deepened my understanding of how to integrate historical accuracy into a digital environment. The lantern material in particular has been one of my longest standing technical challenges since the beginning of my Master’s degree. Finally achieving the exact look I envisioned is not just a technical accomplishment but also a personal milestone. It represents a bridge between my cultural identity and my creative practice. This success has strengthened my confidence in tackling complex visual effects, reinforced the importance of cultural storytelling in digital art, and reminded me of the value of persistence in creative problem solving.

Reference:

Gurung, A. (n.d.) Pinterest. [Online]. Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/339177415709696264. (Accessed: 5 August 2025).

Kumaran, L. (2018) Surname lanterns to stay. Malaymail. [Online]. Available at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2018/02/10/surname-lanterns-to-stay/1574367. (Accessed: 5 August 2025).

Tan, M. K. (2018) Cover Story: Crafting Tradition: Surname Lanterns. Ipoh Echo. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ipohecho.com.my/2018/02/01/crafting-tradition-surname-lanterns. (Accessed: 5 August 2025).

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Final Major Project: Exterior Research and Modelling Part 2.

Figure 1: Door references.

During research, I found that the detailed design of the doors and ventilation panels is due to the absence of a Pintu Pagar, which serves as a secondary door or gate in traditional shophouses.

Figure 2: Door References with Pintu Pagar.

In cases where a Pintu Pagar is present, references show that the main door itself is relatively simple, often featuring a four-character proverb blessing divided across two doors. The intricate details and ventilation are applied to the Pintu Pagar rather than the main door. Based on this, I assume that the examples shown in figure 1 reflect more modern or later adaptations, created to address increased needs for security and privacy.

Figure 3: Final Door Design.

Figure 4: Final Pintu Pagar Design.

For the 1930s-style design, I based my references on Figure 2. The proverb “顾客如亲” means “customers are like family” and is intended as a blessing to attract patrons, emphasising that the kopitiam welcomes its customers warmly like family. The flower decals are line art sourced online and then used as masks when texturing in Substance Painter. Slight dirtiness is applied to the bottom of the Pintu Pagar and the door, as it is closest to the ground, and a bit of edge wear is added to the wood edges to suggest mild aging. Since the building is new and the Kopitiam recently opened, the dirtiness and wear are subtle, reflecting a lightly aged but well-maintained appearance.

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Final Major Project: Exterior Research and Modelling Part 1.

Figure 1: Shophouses exterior references.

In figure 1, several references were taken from the past up to the present day. This was done to get a better understanding of the common design and appearance for the Kopitiam's (coffee shop's) exterior design.

Figure 2: Specific design to reference.

The original concept art and art direction featured a curved pillar design, similar to figure 2. However, upon reviewing multiple references, I found that the pillars are typically square rather than curved. Further research revealed that the curved design with mandarin characters is created by applying additional building material over a square pillar, as shown in figure 2. The majority of the supporting pillars and the ceiling were modelled with reference to this same source.

Figure 3-4: Final front and back appearance of pillar in Unreal Engine.

The pillar and the overhead arch of the five-foot way were merged into a single mesh asset. As shown in figures 3 and 4, the curved section was constructed over the square pillar. The same lime texture used for the interior was applied to the exterior, but with a blue fill to differentiate it. Additional dirt was added across the surface and concentrated at the base of the pillar, reflecting its exposure to outdoor elements and infrequent cleaning. The mandarin characters read "Ong’s Kopitiam," signifying that the shop belongs to the Ong family, presenting it as a family-run business.

Figure 5: Stone usage in shophouses. (Tan & Jenkins, 2013)

While reviewing the stone material introduction by Tan and Jenkins (2013), I discovered that the pillars also feature stone supports for the second floor. These supports are likely painted over in most examples. This detail was incorporated into the pillar model as well, as shown in figures 3 and 4.

References:

Tan, Y. W. and Jenkins, G. (2013). Introduction to Heritage Building Materials Stone. George Town World Heritage Incorporated. Available at: https://gtwhi.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Introduction-to-Heritage-Building-Materials_Stone.pdf. (Accessed: 8 April 2025)

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Final Major Project: Soda Glass and Its Mechanics.

As canned drinks and paper cup coffees are relatively modern inventions, it would not be historically accurate for them to appear in 1930s Southeast Asia, specifically Malaya. Glass bottles, on the other hand, were more common and frequently used during this period.

Figure 1: Glass bottle and its crate model.

The glass bottle was modelled to resemble an iconic soda brand bottle. Its cap is a separate model, as some of the bottles in the scene are intended to be empty. Additionally, a separate mesh was created inside the bottle to represent the liquid content.

The internal partitions of the glass bottle crate were designed as modular pieces. This approach allows the repeated box patterns to be optimised for performance while maintaining flexibility in arrangement.

Figure 2: Final soda glass appearance

The glass bottle was textured in a similar manner to the glass jar described in a previous post. Its Unreal Engine material was also created following the same approach, with some settings adjusted to account for the difference in thickness between the soda glass and the jar glass.

Video 1: Soda Demonstration.

Figure 3: Material Editor for the soda drink.

As mentioned previously, an additional mesh is placed inside the bottle to represent the soda. This allows for a realistic soda fill effect, where the liquid appears to tilt along with the bottle. The effect was implemented by following a tutorial from Gorka Games on YouTube, with further adjustments made to fine-tune the result. A gradient texture was applied to the drink mesh to replicate the iconic color of cola soda.

In summary, the soda tilting effect is a material-based illusion that avoids the need for complex fluid simulations. It works by defining a mathematical plane within the object’s mesh to represent the liquid surface. To simulate gravity, the material takes the world’s constant up vector and transforms it into the object’s local coordinate system. As the object tilts, this transformation causes the plane’s orientation to shift relative to the model, making the liquid appear to remain level with the world. This positional information is then used in Lerp nodes to blend between two sets of material attributes, one for the liquid and one for the empty container, depending on whether a pixel is above or below the dynamic plane. A simple scalar parameter controls the fill level by adjusting the plane’s height.

Reference:

Gorka Games. (2025) Recreating GTA 6’s Bottle Liquid Physics in Unreal Engine 5 (Step-by-Step). YouTube. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOTVoesKSfE. (Accessed: 1 August 2025)

Thompson, A. (2025) Glass Soda Bottles: History And Their Use. Cysoda. [Online]. Available at: https://cysoda.com/article/what-is-a-glass-soda-bottle. (Accessed: 1 August 2025)

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Final Major Project: Glass Assets.

Glass is as common a material as wood or stone in most urban environments. However, the windows and ventilation panels of the kopitiam were constructed from wood rather than glass. As a result, glass materials in the scene were reserved for smaller props such as jars and soda bottles.

Figure 1: Example glass texturing in Substance Painter.

The glass jar was first textured in Substance Painter before being imported into Unreal Engine. Several prominent layers of dirt and wear were applied to convey the sense that the jar had been in use for some time. This approach also served a practical purpose, as the overall environment is relatively dark, meaning that subtle surface details would be less visible without more pronounced texturing.

Figure 2: Glass Material Node set-up

This material creates a realistic and customisable glass surface by blending multiple physical properties. It begins with a base glass setup that allows adjustment of colour, transparency, and light-bending refraction. A single texture mask is then used to apply both fine surface scratches, by increasing Roughness, and opaque dirt patches. These dirt patches block light by increasing Opacity, stop light from bending by setting Refraction to 1.0, and become more visible at glancing angles through the use of a Fresnel effect. The material also includes an advanced optional switch for high-quality Path Traced rendering, which prevents the glass from casting unnaturally dark shadows.

Since Unreal Engine’s translucent materials do not naturally cast shadows, this material includes an override for the Path Tracer to create lighter, more controllable, and visually pleasing shadows for glass. This method was adapted from a tutorial by PolySphere 3D.

Figure 3: Final appearance in Unreal Engine 5.

I initially struggled with achieving proper shadows and detail visibility, particularly for the soda glass that will be discussed in the next blog entry. However, with the guidance of PolySphere 3D’s tutorial and persistence in troubleshooting, I was able to resolve the issue. This process was also an educational experience, providing deeper insight into how Unreal Engine's translucency and material nodes interact to create the convincing glass illusion seen in figure 3.

Reference:

PolySphere 3D. (2025) [UE5] Translucent Shadow with Lumen - Unreal Engine 5.5. YouTube. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq62C226lY8. (Accessed: 31 July 2025)

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Final Major Project: Mirror Asset.

Figure 1-2: Modern example mirror usage.

Although historical images showing the use of mirrors, such as those in figure 1 and figure 2, are difficult to find, this style of mirror placement remains common in many kopitiams in Malaysia. For this reason, a mirror featuring the shop name was included in the scene design.

The inclusion of the mirror is also connected to Feng Shui practices. Mirrors are believed to double the energy within a space and, when placed in a dining area, symbolise abundance. In Feng Shui, placing a mirror near where people eat is thought to reflect double the customers and double the prosperity. In addition, the mirror helps make the narrow layout of a traditional shophouse appear more spacious, contributing both to the visual atmosphere and the cultural authenticity of the scene.

Figure 3: Mirror Model.

The frame profile from the calligraphy model was reused and adjusted to match the proportions seen in figure 3.

Since the mirror would be long and large, it would naturally be heavy. In addition, it would be positioned slightly higher on the wall and tilted downwards to reflect both the customers and their food, reinforcing the idea of “double abundance.” To support this visual logic, there needed to be clear evidence of how the mirror was mounted; otherwise, it would appear to be floating without support. For this reason, a rope and two hooks were modelled to demonstrate the method of suspension, adding both functional realism and visual clarity to the scene.

Figure 4: Final appearance in Unreal Engine.

Figure 5: Material set up.

Additional dirt detail was applied to emphasise the contrast between the clean and dirty areas of the mirror asset. This was achieved by using a base texture where white parts would be reflected and a roughness texture that ensures the dirty areas appear non-reflective while the clean areas retain their reflective quality.

Unreal Engine’s Planar Reflection actor was utilised to produce an accurate reflection on the mirror surface. This tool is designed to render high-quality reflections on flat surfaces, making it ideal for mirrors, water, and other reflective planes. By placing and aligning the planar reflection actor with the mirror mesh, it was possible to capture the surrounding environment in real time, ensuring the reflection behaved naturally from different viewing angles.

The post processing volume and project settings were then adjusted to ensure the mirror reflected accurately under Lumen lighting. This process required some troubleshooting, as most available tutorials are designed for screen space reflections rather than Lumen, which I use for global illumination in my scene. Initially, this caused significant issues with the overall lighting setup. The problem was eventually resolved by fine-tuning specific settings, resulting in proper reflections as shown in figure 4.

Reference:

Cho, A. (2022) Is a Mirror in the Dining Room Good Feng Shui? The Spruce. [Online]. Available at: https://www.thespruce.com/mirror-in-dining-room-feng-shui-5213751. (Accessed: 29 July 2025)

Dimaculangan, J. (2013) Decorating Restaurants with Mirrors. MirrorLot. [Online]. Available at: https://blog.mirrorlot.com/decorating-restaurants-mirrors (Accessed: 29 July 2025).

Epic Games. (n.d.) Planar Reflection. Epic Games. [Online]. Available at: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/planar-reflections-in-unreal-engine. (Accessed: 29 July 2025).

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Final Major Project: Decal Champ.

Figure 1: Wood Screen Model in Unreal Engine.

Figure 2: Wood Screen References.

The wooden screen model shown in figure 1 was initially missing the distinctive golden wood carvings visible in figure 2. Since sculpting or modelling these intricate details would have been too time-consuming, and with several other key assets still pending development, decals were chosen as a practical yet effective solution. This approach not only preserved production efficiency but also enhanced immersion, helping the screen appear less flat while maintaining a degree of historical accuracy.

Figure 3-4: Decal Champ Usage.

To achieve this, the Decal Champ plugin was used to bring the carving details to life within the environment. This tool was selected over creating custom decal materials as it offers versatility for adding extra surface details to other assets such as coffee spills, cigarette ash, or floor dirt. It also supports the use of mask textures, which enable a secondary texture to appear based on the mask and create the illusion of carved with different material, as illustrated in figure 3. A similar technique was also applied to the wooden menu boards mounted on the wall. The mask textures used for these decals were sourced online, and a separate blog entry will be dedicated to discussing third party asset usage and credits.

Figure 5: Final appearance of the wooden screen.

Once the gold masked decals were applied to the screen, the result was significantly closer to real life references, delivering a richer visual presence and a more authentic atmosphere.

Figure 6-8: Other usage of Decal Champ plugin.

As mentioned previously, Decal Champ was also utilised to introduce additional environmental details, further enhancing the storytelling and visual richness of the scene.

References:

Metal Donut. (n.d.) Decal Champ (FREE Decal Tool for UE5). Gumroad. Available at: https://metaldonut.gumroad.com/l/decalchamp. (Accessed: 27 July 2025)

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Final Major Project: Texturing Optimisation.

Figure 1: Material editor with switch nodes.

Figure 2: Tile-able textures + trimsheet on a single texture map.

To further test my material editor skills and explore the possibilities for optimisation, I developed a texture map that functions both as a tileable texture and as a trimsheet. This flexibility was achieved through the use of switch nodes, which determine whether the texture behaves in a tile-able manner or not.

When set to tile-able, the texture shifts along the horizontal axis in response to the object’s movement. This version also incorporates the asset variation technique mentioned earlier, allowing for subtle colour changes that create the illusion of unique assets. In contrast, when set to trimsheet mode, the texture retains its original UVs regardless of the object’s position in the scene, making it ideal for precise, static details.

Video 1: Tile-able and trimsheet demonstration

As demonstrated in Video 1, both the book and pencil share the exact same material. However, the book instance has been configured as tile-able, while the pencil instance is set to trimsheet. This is controlled simply by toggling the switches in their respective material instances, providing a quick and efficient workflow for managing asset variations without the need for additional textures.

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Final Major Project: Asset variation.

Due to time constraints and limited resources, several assets in the environment needed to be duplicated. However, fixed texture colours can make these repetitions obvious, allowing viewers to easily notice that an asset has been reused.

Figure 1: My asset variation material for cardboard boxes.

Figure 2: Colour grid utilised.

Video 1: Asset Variation Demonstration

While exploring ways to create more variation in a short amount of time, I came across a video on ArtStation Learning by Crumpler about efficient asset creation. His approach uses an object’s location to go across a colour grid and picking a tint colour then multiplied onto the base colour. This means that whenever the object is moved, its colour changes, creating subtle variations that trick the eye into perceiving it as a different asset.

As shown in the figures and video above, I successfully replicated this technique across four variations of cupboard assets. This was my first time attempting the method, and I was intrigued by the capabilities of Unreal Engine in enabling such efficiency. I will certainly be applying this technique and other mentioned techniques in the tutorial by Crumpler more often in future projects.

References

Crumpler, C. (2022). Environment Production - Part 6 - Production-Efficient Asset Creation. ArtStation. [Online]. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/learning/courses/yV8/production-efficient-asset-creation/chapters/bpdz/unreal-material-setup-base. (Accessed: 25 July 2025)

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Final Major Project: Baking High to Low.

Baking high poly to low poly is a process where the details of a high poly model are baked and applied onto a low poly asset, giving the appearance that the low poly model has almost the same level of detail as its high poly equivalent. This is a common optimisation technique in game development to achieve high detail without a significant performance cost. Many game artists and studios use this method regularly.

Figure 1: An example of said technique.

In figure 1 is an ashtray asset I created. A high poly version was made by subdividing an already UV-unwrapped low poly model, then bringing both into Substance Painter for baking and texturing.

Figure 2: Final appearance in Unreal Engine.

The same technique was applied to both the cup set and the ashtray, resulting in a highly realistic appearance. I have been using this method since my bachelor’s degree and have continued refining it over the years. At this stage, I can confidently say I have grown comfortable in applying this technique effectively and efficiently.

Reference

Yelzkizi. (2025). How to Bake High Poly to Low Poly in Substance Painter: A Complete Workflow Guide. Yelzkizi. [Online]. Available at: https://yelzkizi.org/bake-high-poly-to-low-poly-in-substance-painter. (Accessed: 24 July 2025)

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Final Major Project: Recycling Assets.

As the available production timeframe continues to diminish and the exterior of the Kopitiam remains uninitiated in development, certain assets will need to be either omitted or sourced from reputable third-party online libraries.

Figure 1: Example of recycling assets

An additional strategy implemented to optimise production time, while avoiding any perceptible reduction in asset quality due to time constraints, involves repurposing a selection of pre-existing assets to form new content, rather than undertaking the creation of entirely original models from the ground up. This strategy is applied to multiple assets that serve primarily as filler elements or minor details unlikely to be noticed, such as reusing the profile of an existing picture frame for a different framed object.

As seen in figure 1, the top crowning detail of the overhead cabinet and cabinet doors are taken from the cupboard model and the supports for the overhead cabinet is taken from the arch detail in the wooden screen.

Figure 2: Placement of the assets.

The cupboard and overhead cabinet are positioned directly opposite one another, contributing to a sense of symmetry and spatial balance characteristic of traditional Chinese immigrant shophouses in Malaya, a design approach often influenced by established Feng Shui principles.

Figure 3: Reusing old assets from old project.

The wooden plaque from my earlier development project in Semester A was repurposed for use in this project. However, it underwent significant modifications, including retopology in areas deemed unsatisfactory, such as the refinement of uneven or overly sharp outline shapes and the softening of harsh edges through the addition of multiple bevels and supplementary edge loops. These adjustments were carried out to ensure that the high-poly to low-poly baking process would be executed accurately and yield satisfactory results, which, in the end, was successfully achieved.

Figure 4: Vytautas Katarzis' Indiana Jones and The Great Circle - Shanghai Environment Breakdowns. (Katarzis, 2025)

This approach was conceived and executed in accordance with established modular modelling techniques, whereby smaller, individualised components were meticulously modelled and subsequently assembled to form a fully realised asset. This method not only streamlines the modelling process but also provides a greater degree of flexibility when making design adjustments, as components can be easily replaced, reused, or retextured without the need to rebuild the entire model. Significant inspiration for this workflow was drawn from Vytautas Katarzis’ Indiana Jones and The Great Circle – Shanghai Environment Breakdowns (2025), in which he demonstrated the practice of constructing smaller, discrete elements and integrating them with optimised texturing workflows. Through this process, he was able to produce highly detailed and visually striking asset compositions and environmental scenes with remarkable efficiency and consistency, setting a valuable precedent for professional asset creation.

Reference

Katarzis, V. (2025). Indiana Jones and The Great Circle - Shanghai Environment Breakdowns. ArtStation. [Online] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/P6k3G3. (Accessed: 22 July 2025)

[jian-wei-24]

Final Major Project: Curtain + animation.

At the start of production, I wanted to introduce a subtle animated element to break the stillness of the environment. Since players would be free to roam and admire the scene, adding movement would help make the space feel more alive.

The curtains along the wooden screen’s pathway were chosen as this animated element. Initially, the plan was to tie them neatly to the sides of the pathway supports, creating a balanced look. However, with nothing behind the screen, leaving the pathway open would reveal only pitch-black emptiness, which felt awkward. To address this, the curtains were left untied to flow freely instead.

Figure 1: Curtain cloth simulation.

Similar to the creation of the worker’s cloth described in the previous blog, the curtain motion was simulated in Blender. The wooden screen’s pathway was set as a collider to ensure realistic interaction. Two separate plane meshes were used for the curtains, allowing them to collide with each other as turbulence forces moved between them.

A stationary turbulence field produced movement that felt too weak, so it was animated to pass through the curtains and return, simulating light winds blowing by. This choice was inspired by the architecture of traditional shophouses, which often feature an air well in the middle of the building that channels breezes from the interior outward.

Video 1: Animation demonstration.

Once textured, both the mesh and materials were imported and assembled in the environment, as shown in Video 1. Two separate animations were created and imported to avoid symmetrical, identical movement on both sides, resulting in a more natural and believable flow.