-> 2023 Oct

Project Planning

My Planning Deck. ( I include Animation reference to the film in the Deck. )

First, I wanna combine my 2D Geometric illustration style with a realistic background in UE.

I know most people create something realistic and CG-style in Unreal Engine. For me, I want to retain my own illustration style and try to experience combining them into a realistic scene in UE.

To do so, I plan to create a 3D model with simple geometric shapes with my hand-drawn brushes and colorful textures of 3D items. Then, taking advantage of the UE quixel bridge, I can add 3D plants, stones, and trees to my scenes.

For this UE project, I want to make a short film to convey the beauty of reading. It would be like an advertising-style film and I might consider adding subtitles in the video as a narrator.

Storyboard

In the initial segment of the storyboard, the opening chapter depicts numerous squares and spheres transforming into a chair. The title reads, “Before reading, please sit casually.” The chair becomes the main character of my film.

Moving to the second row, the background undergoes changes while the chair remains central in every scene. This section aims to capture the enchantment of reading, illustrating how readers can immerse themselves in diverse worlds through imagination. Throughout this phase, the background music will be slow, calm, and peaceful, enhancing the overall experience.

In the concluding chapter, the camera zooms out, framing the final scene within the closing pages of a book. As the book shuts, the title “Your Journey” is revealed on the cover. This finale intends to convey the idea that one can embark on a personal journey at any time after reading.

-> 2023 10 16

UE Workshop

Today, I joined a workshop held by UAL Creative Lab ( Beginner Unreal Engine — BUILDING VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS ) taught by Darsh Kadam.

In this 1.5-hour short lesson, we discover how to build a landscape and realize how third-person characters are in the scene we created. It’s so fun to create a surreal scene like giant fruits floating in the sky or a tiny house crashing into the food. Just love the easy adjustment of creativity the UE gives us.

Key tools I learned:

• Use foliage painting to create grass or plants from the Quixel Library.
• When creating grass on a landscape, remember not too tense, or the Laptop will crash.
• Use Edit > import the model you create ( Advanced option: mesh model)
• Hotkey: W and E to move as game model
• Adjust game mode to preview as third person after selecting third-person level > project setting > map and mode > third-person

-> 2023 10 12

In today’s lesson, we learn how to use Quixel Bridge and set materials to objects.

We download free models from the library and drag them to our senses.

• The concept of the layer is important in UE. It can help us to manage all workflow well. ( Details, Levels, World Partition, World Setting, Layers)
• Categorizing layers is also helpful in controlling animation in UE as we can adjust elements according to the belonging collum. ( Levels > Create new selected Meshes > Move selected to here )

It seems the same way to set materials as Cinema 4D node editors.

-> 2023 10 06

First Class

In our first class, we delved into the fascinating world of Unreal Engine and explored how this powerful software is reshaping the landscape of game production.

During our class, we learned that it is more than just a game engine; it’s a complete suite of creative tools that empower developers to bring their imaginations to life.

1. Powerful Graphics and Realism: Unreal Engine is renowned for its stunning graphics and realism. It enables developers to create visually striking and immersive game environments.
2. Endless Possibilities: Unreal Engine encourages creativity by providing a wide range of tools and resources. We were encouraged to explore and experiment, both in and outside of the classroom.

Exploring Unreal Engine’s Potential In our class, we learned that the assessment process involves more than just completing assignments. It requires us to explore the full potential of Unreal Engine and apply what we’ve learned in creative ways.

Here’s how we can make the most of this learning experience:

1. Record Everything: Keeping detailed records of our work is essential. This includes documenting our progress, challenges, and breakthroughs. These records can serve as valuable references for future projects and help us track our growth as game developers.
2. Experiment and Innovate: Unreal Engine empowers us to experiment with various game development aspects. We should embrace this opportunity to try out new ideas, techniques, and features. Innovation often arises from pushing the boundaries of what we know.

Homework this week: download UE and play with it on our own. Try to think about our final project and make the experiment.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5