tWENTY eIGHT: RE-dESIGN
SOFTWARE USED
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Unreal Engine 4
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3DS Max
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Maya
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Photoshop
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Quixel Mixer
This is one of my final year projects I completed for my degree. I was required to re-create an existing structure to scale in a game engine. Then I needed to 'gameify' the scene in my chosen style. I decided to re-create a barbers in Nottingham city called 'Twenty Eight' and 'gameify' it by applying a cell shaded filter to give the whole build a rough but artistic style. For this project I utilised my skills in 3DS Max and some of Maya's tools for the asset design, Quixel Mixer for texturing and Unreal Engine 4 for level design, lighting, materials, and post processing for the cell shaded and outline filters. As this was a large scale project I decided to utilise a number of time management strategies such as Gantt Charts, Kan Ban boards, asset lists and an online project management site called 'Hack'N'Plan'.
For this project to go smoothly I made sure I had everything I needed to start. This meant I needed to get measurements and pictures of the building and a list of all the assets I would need to create. Doing this not only gave me a visual check list for things to complete and a scale of the building but also meant that I didn't need to make multiple visits. I also created a research document for design ideas, inspiration and helpful links/tutorials that I planned on utilising throughout the projects development. I have placed a link below for this document.
This project started with development of a white box level utilising the measurements taken from the building in the research stage. I really enjoyed this stage as I could start to see everything coming together whilst also seeing where specific assets were going to be placed and providing me inspiration for the show reel video I would create later on. Creating the white box took longer then expected as there were some issues with the scale but completing it gave me such a strong base to work from, I believe its what allowed the project to go so smoothly when it came to texturing and asset development and placement.
I decided to create a number of assets based on the furniture and equipment that was in the barbers utilising the same workflow for each asset which was model, texture then engine implementation. I decided it was best to complete assets in this way as it allowed me to quickly tick assets of my list starting with the ones that would make the scene look most like the barbers. After creating assets I placed them straight into the scene around where I wanted to place them but I found that when I implemented new assets I needed to make some minor adjustments to ensure everything fit into the scene.
I was very pleased with the results from this project as I managed to capture the unique style of Twenty Eight whilst also adapting it to fit the brief I was given. I challenged myself to learn some new development techniques such as post process filters, cable components, mirrors and further use of the Sequence cinematic editor. I really enjoyed learning how to use all these techniques and have thought of other ways to apply these techniques to future projects. If I had more time with the project I would have wanted to fill the scene with more assets and learn some more new techniques/tools to further enhance the scene such as furthering my knowledge of lighting, working with decals and work with interactive assets for the cinematic show reel.
I created a show reel video for this project that can be seen below. I used the Sequence camera to capture all the footage including the turntable shots of specific assets I felt stood out. Planning out this sequence took some time as I wanted it to have interesting camera angles that did not feel static or clunky. It was most important to me that there was variation between the shots with some showing the whole room from high or low angles and others to feel like the camera is a person walking into the shop and having a look around.
Music: 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked' - Cage The Elephant