Synoptic Project – Polishing the level and adding assets

Today I chose to take a break my the creation of my portfolio and continue to work on the synoptic project. Due to spending a lot of my work time on the portfolio I have been neglecting to do work on this for the past week. My primary task at this time is to add more assets into the scene as well as polish off all of the different areas within the environment. I will be the only person primarily working on this scene from now on as Ben is now focusing on the VR & WebGL builds. Ben is creating four different scenes. One for each room, this is due to the performance issues that we would have had with the phone and web builds. Rather than having one big open environment it will be smaller levels. However the main build will still be the whole gallery.  Due to the time restrictions me and Ben discussed sourcing assets from the Unity web store to use to fill in some of the empty spaces within the scene. The first object we sourced which was an important one was a plant asset pack. There was a large variation of plants within this pack. and I used these to fill in some of the empty corners within the scene.

Due to being able to resize the plants I also added some smaller ones to the desk to try and fill in that space.

A few weeks ago I also started to create a small ketchup and mustard bottle. This was not particularity hard to model, it was just to be a smaller asset to fill up an area in the cafe area.

Here you can see what the asset looked like once I imported it.

I also sourced some fruit as well as pizzas. I have also began to look into different food asset packs however they are not so great so we are looking into alternatives for this. 

I made the outside of the scene a bit smaller by removing a section of road, also adding in some smaller assets such as fire hydrants, benches and telephone boxes. I will continue to fill up this area however the inside of the gallery is the main priority at this time.

 

The files within the unity project were starting to get a bit out of hand, due to this I started to group all of the different objects together. We had already done this previously but now I have put them into designated rooms.

 

Portfolio – Beginning Production

As the portfolio deadline is in just over a month I have finally been able to download the Marmoset Toolbag. Due to it being a pricey bit of software I have had to wait till this month to finally be able to download it due to there being a 30 day free trial. My aim is to get my portfolio done about a week before it is due in so that I have plenty of time if any touch ups are required. Rather than using a website to build my portfolio I have opted to create a video showcase that will include multiple images of my models. These images will include different renders of my models using marmoset as well as a screenshot of the model within the environments they were made for. I am also going to include some turn table renders of some of my models; as this is a nice little feature within marmoset.

As I had never used marmoset before I had to do some research into the software before using it. The layout is quite simplistic and very user friendly. However I had no idea how to export renders or use any of the included features.

The first and most important thing I had to research into was what maps needs to be plugged into where and how the work flow works from Substance Painter into marmoset. From this I found that I had to simply export my textures from substance as a PBRMetalRough. I made sure to create a new folder for these newly exported texture maps so that I could easily find them. I then plugged the different maps into the designated area. I made note from a youtube tutorial that I used so that I could always check it for reference when importing the maps.

_Base_color – Albedo: Albedo
_Height – Displacemect: Height / Scale 0.0
_Metallic – Reflectivity : Metalness / Metalness 1.0
_Normal – Surface : Normals / Flip Y
_Roughness – Microsurface: Gloss / Gloss [x] Invert – 0

Plugging them in was fairly standard however I needed to make sure to flip Y on the Normal maps as well as tick Invert on the Gloss Map.

Using my Satanic Book model as an example you can see the textures go onto the model rather nicely. Depending on the model I had to change the brightness of the sky however as it caused some models to look very white.

I then had a go of using the Turntable feature. To add this I clicked onto the model then went Scene > Add Object > Turntable. This added a 10 second animation which came to 300 frames. However the file was exported as a video rather than separate images. This made it easier to handle in the video editing software. This is a gif of the turntable as I cannot upload video on this blog.

As I am doing a video I opted to use Sony Vegas. Due to the simplicity of the system as well as having a little bit of prior knowledge in the software. I would have used Adobe Premier but my license for that expired, so I could have used the college version but I would not have been able to access the file from home. I am aiming to have the showcase video be around 4 to 5 minutes long and include various different models and tasks I may have done over the two years. The reason I have chose to try and make the video around 4 minutes is due to not wanting it to drag out and have all the separate images on screen for too long.

Synoptic Project – Minimal Viable Product & Overall Progress Update

Today was the day of the Minimal Viable Product deadline, at this point I am really happy with my groups progress. The whole scene is starting to come along very nicely. This week Ben sorted out the lighting so that MVP ready. This really brought the whole level together. All of the assets in the scene look great. Below is a video walk through of our level so far.

So far my group are 6 jobs ahead of schedule. Which is really good. The reason for being this far ahead is due to many jobs getting completed this week due to the MVP build. Small tasks such as adding music were finally completed. It’s nice to see good progress being made, especially with all of the green included on the job list. Many of the final tasks have already been started they are just long processes involved before they are fully complete. In terms of assets the only things that are really left are smaller objects just to fill in some of the areas to make it feel more like a real world location.

Feedback –

“Look at your AO settings, the spread is high and intense. Overall product feels good and complete. You need more smaller assets now. GO TO A GALLERY. TAKE PICTURES. MODEL THEM! Things like trap doors in the floor etc. Menu is a little inconsistent. WEB GL build needs doing. VR build needs doing. When you hand in make sure you hand all builds in. Assets are good. Think about placement of assets – that fire door needs moving. Get your artbook sorted you don’t have long left! Consider adding a donation collection model – this could be linked to a paypal so people could actually donate. Outside needs trees and bushed etc. Map could look cleaner and more professional visually – put some transparency on it. Cafe could look more contemporary. Indoor plants.”

I am really happy with the feedback that my group received. A lot of  it includes small things that my group already planned to do in the coming weeks so that it would be fully complete. The AO settings will be sorted by Ben due to their high intensity. For the overall environment we plan on creating smaller assets to help fill out the level to make it more immersive and like a real life location. Our primary objective over the next couple of weeks other than continuing the creation of the level is getting the screenshots prepared and placed into the template so that they are ready to be printed into the Art Book.

 

Synoptic Project – Scrum 30/04/18

Today’s Scrum was very quick and simple compare to previous weeks. Everyone  was present for this scrum and everyone knows what they are doing. Currently I am happy with the groups progress and the level is starting to look great. We’re only really missing the WebGL and VR versions however once the primary level is complete this can be easily done. This is the only real issue other than the UI not being done. This week me and Ben will be working on smaller assets as well as level tweaks after the MVP feedback. Kurtis is looking into the raycast and WebGL and Luke will also be working on some smaller assets. Today is the day of the MVP deadline and due to this I will be doing a large project update post later on; this will go more in depth with where my group is at

Synoptic Project – Creating a Cafe Chalkboard

Rather than having a sign outside the room of the cafe I had an idea of having one of those small chalk boards that include the name of the place as well as listing either the menu or the specials. Due to this my research images consist of this object but with a couple of different types.

The creation of the asset was a little more complicated than expected due to making a mistake with the mesh at first. This was quickly resolved and I was happy with its look.

I sorted out the UVs of the first side and then duplicated this. 

I then combined both of the meshes.

I think I did a really good job with the UV unwrapping. I took up almost all of the space that was given and the meshes unwrapped  very nicely.

For this I did source a chalk board texture from substance share but I also added my own chalk markings using the various brushes within substance. From the beginning I could tell that most of the detail in this model would come from the texture. This was the longest part of this model. 

From my research images I could see that the wood on these types of chalk board were fit together like a jigsaw. Due to this I added smaller details like this into the texture. I made it look as if there was a joint in the wooden frames.

I also added some normal detail the metal clips on the side of the mesh, so it did not look like it was just hovering. 

I made sure to correctly name all of the alphas that I had created and put them into a resources folder in case I needed them on a later date.

I then stamped the alphas onto the menu board. When creating the chalk writing I made sure to use a couple of different fonts like in the reference images. I also made the name of the restaurant a red chalk so that it would stick out more than the rest of the information. I had a really fun time texturing this asset.

This was my substance render.

Synoptic Project – Updated Level Screenshots

Ben has been putting a lot of work into the main environment this week due to him downloading the most up to date build from the google drive and further developing the level. I have had some small inputs while the building process has been done however one key feature that has been added by Ben was the baked lighting. This has added a really nice effect to the level and ended up looking much nicer than what I had originally anticipated. Other than this some new assets have been imported into the scene and small tweaks have been made so that the level is prepared for the Minimal Viable Product deadline on Monday.

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From the very beginning of the project I had planned to take screenshots that show the different development stages of the level. With the rebuild I was able to do this with a more streamlined look with minimal camera movement. I set up the screenshot camera at the beginning of the rebuild and took one every so often. This is the result so far.

Synoptic Project – Creating an Egyptian Vase

Me and Ben were having a discussion about parts of the rooms seeming rather empty. Due to this we discussed filling in some of the areas. We also got some feedback from the lecturers to possibly include more art / antiques in the scene. Due to this I wanted to create a small vase that could go on one of my pedestals. From my research I really liked the look of the Egyptian style so I knew this is the style I wanted to use for the texture.

I messed around with a couple of different ideas for the shape and then I had noticed I had an asset from the synoptic project that could actually work in this scene. Only some small changes would be required to update the model and allow it to fit with the overall environment. The first thing I did was open the old Maya file and soften some of the edges so that the asset would look more rounded. I also merged the vertices at the top of the model so the vase looked sealed. 

Once I re-imported the mesh into the substance file it looked a lot more rounded and had the desired effect. One thing I actually really liked was the black and gold color scheme so I chose to not change this. I ended up spending a lot of my time for this asset creating different alphas that I could place onto the asset to create cool patterns that would fit with the style I was going for. I used the alphas in a mask and had the patterns be the same golden material as the edges. 

I really liked the look of this asset in the render. This asset will be imported into the scene before the MVP.

Synoptic Project – Creating a Pedestal

From the beginning of the project we knew that we would need some sort of pedestal that could be used to hold up the projector. Originally I had the idea of an older looking one as I thought it would have a nice contrast with the modern building and suit the overall tone. However from research I chose to go for a different more minimalistic approach.

At first I was leaning towards the idea of creating a basic rectangle that objects could be placed on, once id chosen to go for a more modern look. I thought this would fit the scene well but it was a little boring. due to this I chose to make some gaps in the mesh which would have glass plains placed into them.

I bevelled the edges to give the soft look that was in the reference image.

Due to the simple shape the UVs were really easy and quite fast to unwrap. I managed to sew most edges together which let me have a nice clean UV layout.

All the glass panes were the same object therefore I had their UVs layered on top of each other.

Before exporting the fbx I wanted to make sure that the model would actually work with the transparent material on the plains. I tested this using the Maya shaders. One problem I encountered after I exported was that the glass was far too thick and looked a bit ridiculous, because of this I made it thinner.

The texture I was going for was just a simple white glossy plastic as well as a nice semi transparent glass. Due to the simplicity not much other would could be done to the texture or model. 

This is the render. 

Synoptic Project – Continued Level Progress

Today me and Ben worked together in continuing to build the level. My rebuild the other day was a success and due to having more assets in that in the previous build we are actually now more ahead. Today was spent putting in some assets that we either did not have at the time of the rebuild or assets that still needed implementing into the level. One key element that was added was Ben’s newly finished cafe counter that came with different components in the image below. This helped fill the cafe area a lot and now the room is looking a lot more full. All that is left for this area is little things.

I added my company name into the lobby reception and it had the desired effect. It sticks slightly off the wall and has a nice metal finish.

This next part that was put in was really important for the client. He wanted the exhibition description placed onto a wall just outside of the gallery area. The description was also accompanied by a photo which I included on this wall.

We also sorted out the glass material again and placed this onto the revolving doors and windows. 

One part of the project that will be done later this week is dragging all of the different photos into the scene and placing them in their designated frames. 

We also placed the roof back into the scene, this along with the air conditioning has a really nice effect.

This is the progress screenshots from today. Loads of little other tasks were done such as duplicating different items around such as the fire alarms etc. We also had a go with some reflection probes to see how they worked however this is still a work in progress and were not quite sure how they will be used within the scene yet. The next step will be to sort out the lighting before the MVP deadline as well as implement some of the code Kurtis & Luke should be working on.

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Synoptic Project – Creating a Company Name to go on the wall

A while ago I began to model the company name so that we can put it on the wall behind the reception desk in the art gallery lobby. The model itself was not hard to create as I used the text tool, this was the first time I had actually used this tool and it was simpler than expected. I did some research to find out how to use this tool. I also spent some time playing around with different fonts to see what I think would suit the Art Galleries theme. I then went onto the Darling Media Group website and the first thing I saw was a simple streamlined text. Due to this I decided to go for a simple font.

I liked how the text was looking and I was happy with the outcome. One problem with the text tool was the fact the fronts of the letters had engons, due to this I had to triangulate the mesh. I also used the clean up tool to make sure the model did not have any glitched faces or edges.

I then automatic UV unwrapped. Due to the simpleness of the text I think this was an okay way to UV unwrap the model. I then sewed the necessary edges together. I also put the words in order just so the lay out was nicer on a whole. I tried to take up as much space as possible on the UV map. This process took me a long time due to how many different shells there initially was; there was a lot of sewing to do.

The reference images I was looking at were very minimalistic. The texture used was a simple flat metal that looked polished. It stands out from the wall while also keeping a simplistic feel. I believe that the font I used helped me with this approach and when it came to texturing I just simply used one of the metal materials that is already plugged into substance. Texturing took no time at all and I was happy with the result.

This is the render, it does not stand out too great due to the colour of the background but I will be posting images of it in the scene on a later date.