Conclusion

During this project I have defined myself as an artist, I have enjoyed the process' I have taken during the development of the 3D environment. Which will lead me to become a 3D environment and prop artist as theses two areas are the ones that interest me the most.
Through out this project I have pushed myself to learn and understand new techniques, I feel that I have accomplished this I have gain knowledge of many techniques which can be used in future 3D work.

Although under the pressure to complete this project on time I have missed certain key areas which I will need to re-visit to gain a full understanding such as displacement maps I understand the overall process needed to produce this but I do not fully understand how this can work in various situations I hope to take a more detailed look into this technique during my own personal time.

I plan to also improve on my overall shader knowledge as during this project I started to use more complicated shaders such as the water shader.
Shaders are great tools to make 3D work look unique and there is so much that can be done within this technique I would like to pursue this and learn how various game engines use shader networks and how to produce more unique shaders.

I was happy with the final outcome of my scene, apart from a few areas which I felt lacked which if I went back I would improve this if the time to do so was there. Firstly the modular building I developed for this project they were developed in a way in which it would be very simple by making these simple they lost the detail needed to really push out a sense of a medieval scene I spent a lot of time on shader work and less time on these modular assets, I would of liked to gained skills in high poly modelling or sculpting as I would of been able to not only increase my skillset as an artist but I would of been able to produce more detailed and unique assets.

Animations during this project I had various visions in which animations were needed, I did not want to use any preset animations inside of UDK I wanted to produce all my own work for this project. Animations I could not understand how to import them from my 3D application to work inside UDK I tried various online sources for guidance and there was no luck, for example I wanted my flag assets to have cloth physics to give realistic movement as I could not use my animations produced within Maya I had to find a simple fix which I did, an animated texture which from distance works but it still lacked the desired effect I intended to portray.

Lastly project management, I have really come a long way since my first year project where there was no sign of any kind of project management, I started to understand how to plan my project during my team project Game Development, using various management tools then allowed me to understand how I can plan for my own personal work which I did through out this project using set and personal mile stones, keeping track of all work needed through Trello the project management tool this helped me get to a finished state. Yet I still lack somewhat due to time planning in some cases I did not plan the amount of time needed for Asset X this some times kept the work load heavy due to poor time planning but because of this I have started to understand my personal limits as an artist and now I have the opportunity to work on the limits and gain new skills.

To summarize I have enjoyed the overall development process of this project and I hope to keep refining my skills as a environment artist which can lead to future opportunities within the games industry.

Final Cinematic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBclVHP2dto

The above link will take you to my developed final cinematic for this project, I had to use a link as I kept encountering upload issues for this blog.

 As seen with my final cinematic it consists of a more fly through than random points broken up and edited together although I have seen many online show reels where certain areas of an environment are recorded then edited to fit each other.

I wanted to use my own direction and not do what everyone else does. So for my cinematic I wanted to show the flow of the environment as if it is a playable level even if this is not meant to be played I am aiming to be an environment artist and I want to show how I can not only create 3D work but I want to show how I can create a level/3D environment that can work in a video game situation.

Final Renders - Before Cinematic

Concept Art Recap

Post Processing

Post processing my final stage of this environment, Post processing can be used for various changes and enhancements to the 3D environment this range from, Light bloom, Motion blur, depth of field and color enhancements.

I produced a post processing chain which holds all the post processing settings, I started by adding an Ambient  Occlusion Effects using this added and defined more shadow information through out the whole environment. The second process added is known as an Uber Post Processing effect this is where a lot of the setting take place. I started to add a slight bloom not to much to over power the scene just enough to give off the bloomed effect this was mainly shown on the wooden lamp posts.

I used the Tone mapper this is for color alterations that change the overall color within the scene I used this to define the desired atmosphere, It contributed to the color continuity throughout the scene by giving off a more grey tone across the scene. This also helped increasing the shadow definition which really helps push out the more lit areas really defining the lighting within the scene.

Below I will show two images both rendered in the same position within the environment, showing the changes made when attaching the post processing change into the world properties. 

Non Post Processing

Post Processing 

Final Additions/Changes

Subtle Changes from the Original Concept Art

Figure 1. shows some areas that I have added/changed from the chosen concept art. To start I added wooden posts joined by rope surrounded the main wooden bridge this added extra depth to the scene also broke up the repetition of the wooden planks. I also added wooden lamp posts which are placed in various areas through out the scene, I wanted theses to not only break up repetition but I wanted to add another light source which are used in the more darker areas in the scene.

Next I decided to add a barge/boat which would be placed within the water again to break up repetition and to bring to life the scene. This lead to an issue I noticed at that point I had a sewer entrance connected to my scene to show water flow but the water flow lead to a dead end which would mean having a boat would be irrelevant as I wanted my scene to be realistic I looked into ideas which I could use to make use of the boat asset.

I decided to make a port callus gateway, I made the gateway attached to an archway placed at the dead end, Having this shows how the boat would travel throughout this scene. 

Figure .1 

Figure 2. depicts the scene in the more earlier stages but you can see the huge space between the houses leading up, this also show great repetition with the texture attached the floor. The changes I have made change are seen within Figure 2.1. I started by compacting the road/street leading up as realistically in this time the houses were very closed in together so by compacting the street it helped define the sense of a medieval environment.

To fill in space I started working on assets which would be relevant to my scene using previous saved reference. I added variations to the houses not too much as I thought during this time the houses would be near identical. alongside theses I have also developed assets to fit into this scene such as; Market stalls, Haybale shelters, crates, barrels, lamp posts and medieval cannons. All assets are seen within figure 2.1.

Figure 2

Figure .2.1

Displacement map, The development for this has taken a lot of time due to the fact I really did not understand how the process worked, during this project I started to gain and understanding of this process. I went back to my displacement map as I was not fully happy with the outcome shown during the Alpha milestone. Figure 3. shows final material as you can see the displacement maps is taking effect here and it noticed straight away although this is not perfect as my current skill set this is to the full of my ability.

For this material I increased the specular density this allows for a more defined spectacular I thought this works well due to the fact the stone work is in contact with water this specualr gives the effects of a somewhat damp stone.

Look Up Tables - UDK

I wanted to start finalizing the environments color scheme, During my research into this I found a technique used across level designers where the process creation of a look up table it produce, A look up table holds the color information which can be used across the whole environment keep color continuity through the scene.

Using an RGB table and a screen shot taken from the current environment I started to create a look up table to be used within my scene, I started with levels and curves inside the Photoshop settings to define the shadows (darker areas) within my scene. I also increased the brightness and contrast levels which lead to a warmer sense of color within the environment as seen below.

I have uploaded at the end of this discussion showing the slight effects that the look up table changed within my scene, More work may be needed for the desired effect, also post processing will coincide with this.

LUT - Test

RGB Table

Normal

Attached Look Up Table

Flag Asset - Post Alpha

During my Pre-alpha stage of development I spent a lot of time trying to animated my flag and use the animation within UDK, unfortunately UDK kept hitting errors and crashing and I could not find anyway pass this, Although I could spend more time looking into this I think at my current stage there are other assets, texture work which need more attention.

So I started thinking of way that I could fake some kind of movement of the flag as there are seen from a far that helps, I started looking at how I developed my water shader and how it works within UDK using various expressions such as Pannar to get the actual sense of movement.

Inside the material for my Flag asset I decided to re-use my normal map texture I used on my water shader for a ripple effect, using a very slow setting on the pannar this worked very well, I added a second normal map for more definition as the normal passes along the texture, Although this is not perfect I feel at this point in time it works and because I used my previous normal maps this has optimized my time that I would of spent trying to accomplish a full fledged animation.

Displacement Map - Post Alpha

Displacement maps as stated previously is a totally new area which I never really worked with in any of my previous work, as you can see from the GIF. Below This was my process of in developing a height map which would define the height within my displacement map, White is for the height and black defines a more flat surface, I added blocks of pure white over a select few of the stone work within the texture map, this is to push out the stones more so than the others.

Figure 1. GIF

Figure 2

Figure 3

When working on this I found that is started to look very grainy and mess which is not what I wanted using the parameters within the BumpOffset I was able to clear out and define the shape of the texture map as shown in Figure 4. 

Figure 4

Post Alpha - Gantt Chart

I produced a Gantt Chart, which dates from Alpha presentation (week 8) to final week (week 15), I have added each task and asset needed for completion of my scene, each asset is colour coded from which will take/need most attention, Red being most and green being least, I also broke the tasks up for more clarity e.g. Main tasks, Texture work, Kismet and presentation.

I have also tasked each from week to week instead of days and dedicated a set amount of hours each week to hit targets and gave myself personal deadlines in-which I must complete the set tasks by.

Water Shader & Cube Maps

Water shader, This was a massive stepping stone as an artist myself as I have never attempted to create such an in-depth shader, this took a lot of time when learning what nodes/expressions within the material editor do what, and how I can create a water effect which would fit my scene/concept.

To gain the reflection needed that would relate to my environment I produced a cube map, which renders out images in various directions, these images are then used within the shader to create the desired reflection.
Once I rendered out my cube map I only used one of the rendered images as seen below I used the image of the sky dome being used within my scene this gave the reflection of the sky across my water shader. Worked very well in reflected the color of the sky dome the pinks and oranges bringing to life the water shader.

Cube Map Render Target

Render used for shader

Once I had my water shader looking the way I wanted and reacting to my scene, for example the water depth and how it changes the actual mesh beneath even though this water shader is applied to a single plan mesh, After this was done I started looking at the flow of the water shader, as you can see from the three images below I changed the water shader settings to give a varied effect of the water flow, Figure.1 shows a more think and dense water flow where as figure.2 and 3. have a more disperse water flow.

As my scene is based around some kind of canal or sewer running through a medieval city/village, I can only assume that it is a man-made so the water flow would be quite mucky, dark and also have a more dense water flow, I will still be working on this water shader until the final hand-in as it is a massive dynamic part of my overall scene I feel it needs the most attention.

Figure.1

Figure.2

Figure.3

Modular Assets - More Trims

As you can see in the Figure.1 the wall is very bland as does not offer much shape, as I working on a medieval scene I started looking at castle walls, and decided to go from there.

Figure.1

Figure.2 shows a simply modular asset which connects to the top of each modular wall piece, this helps me create a diverse scene with only two simple assets, it not only breaks up the geometry but also adds extra shadow definition across the whole scene.

Figure.2

Flag Physics

Within my Scene I have various city flags places around the scene, as they currently stand they are very static, To bring the scene to life I wanted to add some kind of animation to the flag assets, I found this is accomplished by using various tools within Auto desk Maya as well as the physics tool inside UDK.

I started looking at the nDynamic section within Maya and It allowed me to create some kind of cloth animation using nCloth I used a preset "T-shirt" as I thought this would give me the effect I wanted which as you can see from the Gif below is did offer somewhat to the desired effect.

I hit a block wall and could not understand the process in-which you export this mesh with animations and import within UDK, So I started looking through online resources  and couldn't find much to help this issue, This is still at work in progress but for my final scene I will plan to have some kind of cloth physics working with the flag mesh.

Terrain Edit - Vertext Painting

I wanted to find a way to break up the floor texture, So I decided to look into the terrain editor with this tool in UDK you can create a piece of terrain and apply multiple textures (Materials) and paint and erase them as you select each texture you can also add height to the terrain bumps and indents, I feel this will be a great tool to use within my scene.

UDK  - Terrain Editor

The image below shows a quick practice in how this works when vertex painting within the editor itself as you can see as long as both materials are seamless they will blend in quite well you also can adjust the strength in-which you pain which helps to blend in further.

Vertex Painting - Test

Going beyond the concept

So I started looking at my scene and the direction it is currently in and although I am following the concept to the best of my ability, It does not seem to offer a main attraction for the viewer this it seems to lack so I've decided to add to this and make my own, I think having a street section with medieval buildings I feel this will allow a main point of view as well as break up the scene.

Image 1. showing how this fits into my scene at a basic level, image .2 showing medieval building 1. which is work in progress, I will be producing only three building types, I started this with modular pieces but I found it to be very time consuming for myself during the production process, although this is a great technique for level design for this particular project, I will produce three building varied shapes and sizes, they will each have individual textures for the extra variation I can have doubles of the textures with varied effects this may help break up the building if they become too repetitive. Building one contains only 280 tris at its current state which is great for memory consumption.

image 1. 

Image 2 - Medieval Building, 280 tris

Scene Update

Trying to break things up - Trims

After finishing my wall and floor textures, I took a step back and noticed how repetitive it looked, I know that once I have created more assets the scene will come together but the texture itself wall/floor both look to repeated for my liking.

Before I move onto the wall texture I started looking into various ways to break up the sense of repetition, So I looked into trims which are great way to cut out noticeable repetition, as you can see below I have added two trims that go in between the floor these are made up of another asset which is the same length as the floor asset so it connect easier (modularity) it works top/bottom also to the sides if needed, I do think this breaks it up.

I did find difficulty which what texture I should use for the trim I tried several ideas but I went back to the floors texture and worked from that, as Realistically it would be made from the same material as the floor (Stone), So my next steps will be this with the wall textures around my scene, although it should not be too noticeable once I have added in windows, ledges, torches and city flags which will break up the overall wall.

Finding the right texture

As an 3D artist I think that the most important part of the 3D process is the texture work, to me anyone can 3D model, but the models come to life with the texture the artist has created so this to me is the main part of being a 3D artist.

As I finished my main floor texture I started looking for a texture I could use for my wall, I could not just grab any old texture and hope it works well as I'm working from a concept art is also needed to be relevant to that, It does not have to be the exactly same just similar and needs to make sense for this scene. 

So I started looking at various stone wall textures which I think would look well within my scene (Image below) although I have only chosen one main texture for my wall I will still keep the others if and when I need to add varied stone work within my scene.

I began to work on my chosen texture within Photoshop I needed to make it seamless like my previous texture, I also wanted to bring out the color of the stone work after this I started to work on the material set-up within UDK, again I used normal and specular maps and a bump offset tool to define the stone work, I believe this material does need more work on the normal map as its still not as defined as I would like. (WIP - Material Below)

Wall Texture _ UDK Set-up

Image below both wall and floor textures at their current states within UDK. 

Floor, Wall inside UDK

UDK - Material Enhancement, Displacement map

Displacement map is a technique which works hand in hand with bump mapping and normal mapping in-which you use height mapping to give a certain desired effect over the geometry, it pushes out the surface texture to give a greater sense of depth and adds extra detail.

This technique I think will really help my scene come to life with this added extra depth, I added this to my stone floor material in UDK with a simple set-up using a bump offset expression and while combining both the diffuse texture and normal map.

                                                               
Comparison shown below, with bump offset and without.                                                                    

Without displacement map 

Displacement Map

Both in UDK game editor

Final Block-Out