#development1

[being-mughal]

Blog 4: Environment Design Development 1 – Continuation of Place of Mind

Vegetation and Lighting Challenges

Adding vegetation and lighting put some energies into the scene but was not easy to do much due to constraints in the hardware.

Process

Vegetation Using Geometry Nodes: By following a YouTube video tutorial I learned how to use Geometry Nodes to place grass, trees, and stones on the terrain within a short amount of time. This relieved pressure from my PC but also was generally quality.

Setting Up Lighting: For exterior outputs I chose natural light accompanied with volumetrics and for interior scenes medieval torches. They also helped to improve the lighting in those setups in order to set the mood of the scene.

This phase helped me understand the role of vegetation for low-performance systems and how the lighting affects the narrative of a 3D space.

References

Blender Foundation. (2024). Blender 3D Software. [Online]. Available at: https://www.blender.org [ 27 December 2024]

YouTube. (2024). Geometry Nodes Vegetation Tutorial. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbKQEwGSS2M&ab_channel=Bro3D [ 27 December 2024]

[being-mughal]

Blog 5: Environment Design Development 1 – Continuation of Place of Mind

Rendering the Final Scene:

The final scene was given the last touch for this project. There was also limited hardware which I had to work around but I was able to get the output that was required by constant trials.

Process

Challenges with High-Poly Models: With the current scene, the rendering was slow because the scene was highly poly’ed. Sometimes my laptop froze few times I had to wait patiently to get it going well again.

Final Renders: Oh, I think finally I managed to render the scene, and I captured exactly the emotions and details I wanted to obtain.

This phase highlighted patience and problem solving in the process when carrying out three dimensional projects. It is an important step and what is most important here is to have a balance between the quality of the rendered image and the associated performance penalty.

References

Blender Foundation. (2024). Blender 3D Software. [Online]. Available at: https://www.blender.org [ 28 December 2024]

[being-mughal]

Blog 3: Environment Design  Development 1 – Continuation of Place of Mind

Terrain and Tomb Construction

Following that, I built modular assets, before designing the terrain and tomb themselves, with examples as a source of reference.

Process

Gathering References Using PureRef: While designing the tombs, I gathered the references of the tombs and terrains in PureRef, to maintain consistency and plausibility of the design.

Creating Terrain and Structures in Blender: First, the terrain was built, then, the tomb with the help of models and surrounding constructions and objects. The references informed the orientation and the ornamental design of the architectural designs.

Reflection This stage highlighted the usefulness of referring to the actual and the concocted designs. These references offered light and guidance onto it, and enabled me to establish a neater atmosphere.

References

PureRef. (2023). The Simple Reference Organizer. [Online]. Available at: https://www.pureref.com [ 24 December 2024]

Blender Foundation. (2024. Blender 3D Software. [Online]. Available at: https://www.blender.org [ 24December 2024]

Sketchfab. (2024). Free and Paid 3D Models. [Online]. Available at: https://www.sketchfab.com [ 24 December 2024]

[being-mughal]

Blog 2: Modular Magic in Development 1 – Continuation of Place of Mind

Trim Sheets and Asset Creation:

Consequently, for greater efficiency and faster progress throughout the project, trim sheets were produced in unit form in the form of pillars, bricks, stairs, and slabs.

Process

Designing Trim Sheets in Blender: For elements like bricks or stairs I made trim sheets so I was able to build the same structures over and again.

Building the Modular Assets: With these trim sheets, I created more fundamental items particular to the story such as the tomb walls, pillars, as well as other edifices. It did help in saving time and tune the scene up well for the performance aspect.

The possibilities of the use of the modular approach are best seen in large environments. It provides measures towards consistency whilst at the same time minimising time and efforts which are used to achieve organisational goal. I also learned that if one wants to be efficient they should always plan on how to do it.

References

Gurney, J. (2009). Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. [23 December 2024]

Blender Foundation. (204-). Blender 3D Software. [Online]. Available at: https://www.blender.org[23 December 2024]

[being-mughal]

Blog 1: Starting with the Basics Development 1 – Continuation of Place of Mind

Textures and PBR Maps:

That is true with each given plan of the project in the context of 3D work: Each project requires strict and sound foundation. To begin this project, I collected textures, and then optimizing them into the PBR maps to form a realistic environment base.

Process

Gathering Base Textures: For the grounds and wall bases, I procured them from repositories on the internet; with consideration to the right color range and texture standards.

Creating PBR Maps in Substance Sampler: By the help of Adobe Substance Sampler, I created normal maps, ambient occlusion and displacement maps, and adjusted albedo maps for peculiar looks. This enabled me to develop high quality detailed textures.

Mastering the initial fundamental ideas connected with the creation of texture PBR maps will allow developers to create realistic 3D spaces. This phase also further showed that a tiny change in a texture formula can drastically change the results.

References

Adobe Substance. (2024). Adobe Substance Sampler. [Online]. Available at: https://www.adobe.com/substance.html [22 December 2024]

Blender Foundation. (2024.). Blender 3D Software. [Online]. Available at: https://www.blender.org [22 December 2024].

Textures.com. (2024). Free Textures for 3D Design. [Online]. Available at: https://www.textures.com [22 December 2024]

[being-mughal]

Blog Post 3: Final Adjustments and Rendering

Title: Pushing Boundaries, Student Competitions in Games Art and Design

This post is on the refining of the final setting and some fixes that I did in the Unreal Engine for the competition entry before using the final rendering camera setup.

Scene Adjustments in Unreal Engine: I changed the light and mood in the environment in the software called Unreal Engine to increase the visibility of the Samurai and make the BAZAR environment even more appealing. The positioning of the cameras helped in achieving the shooting style of a movie.

Capturing the Render: All said and done; what I drew was the last shot of Samurai in the BAZAR environment set up. This is to say that the render accentuates the activeness, illumination and the darkness as well.

This last stage brought awareness of how to take good quality shots and how arranging objects in the scene and the kinds of light that is can affect what we see on the screen. The process enhanced my understating of cinematography in regard to games art in general.

Reference: Epic Games. (2024). Unreal Engine 5 Documentation. Available at: https://www.unrealengine.com [Accessed: 15 December 2024].

[being-mughal]

Blog Post 2: Animation and Scene Setup

Title: Pushing Boundaries, Student Competitions in Games Art and Design

For this post, I will explain how I animated the Samurai and placed the scene in Unreal Engine to ensure that I got the scene I wanted for the cinematic effect.

Animation Using Mixamo: Since I wanted to show how the Samurai moves, I uploaded the character to Mixamo. This platform gave a rich collection of animations. I chose a forward-walking animation type, changed its parameters and saved the animated character.

Interacting the Animated Character in Unreal Engine: As soon as the animation was done, I copied the animated Samurai sports from the animation software into the BAZAR environment set in the Unreal Engine. Staging of the character within the scene, also entailed some realignment in order to get the desired motion within setInterval.

One of the biggest things I learned animating and integrating the Samurai was the context and environment needs to be consistent with the character. Mixamo, in particular, really made this process a lot easier for me to manage while I tried to concentrate on the looks of scenes.

Reference: Adobe. (2024). Mixamo Animation Tool. Available at: https://www.mixamo.com [Accessed: 7 December 2024].

[being-mughal]

Blog Post 3: Final Steps and Reflections

Title: From Blender to Reality: Preparing for 3D Printing

In the final processes of design, I finished with modeling and texturing and then proceed to 3D printing. This involved for example making sure that the model gets the best preparations for exporting on an STL file.

Preparing for 3D Printing: The first effort was to inspect the model for embedded geometry or areas that are too thin and likely to fail during printing. I used the add-on called 3D Print Toolbox in Blender to evaluate the shape of the model and make some changes.

Once the model was validated, I exported it an STL file format this is common in 3D printing .

Challenges and Insights: One good point with this design was that it was uncomplicated, but there were problems with this as well. It did guarantee an easy print but there was always a challenge in how the playfulness of the design would meet functional needs.

Future Plans: In my next update, I intend to add more details in creases and play with the texture of the print. Thanks to this project, there are numerous opportunities for improving the everyday object through artistic intervention.

Conclusion: This assignment was a great opportunity to explore the sphere of three-dimensional printing. I also found out how it’s like to create an object, from the conceptual stage all the way to converting an STL file. Can’t wait till the chick comes out in print!