Week 18

This week was focused on looking at baking textures and how we would insert objects into the Unreal Engine 4 (UE4). During the presentation we had lots of videos looking at baking trying to explain how hard and soft edges work, although hard and soft edges were explained well I didn't really realise until getting hands on the next day that the Normal textures are created artificially using a program called Xnormal. After this lecture I returned home looked and doing some more paintings using a new style of tablet I had acquired. I also started looking into some more information to do with our written task.
        The following day we looked at taking a simple cube with smoothing into UE4 using baking and the Xnormal's program. This process showed us also how exactly soft and hard edges work and to cement them, we also looked at how sometimes with a cylinder when extruded can extrude with hard edges which give of a more hexagon atheistic to the new extruded surface but this is easily sorted with the soft edge button that returns this to a more curved and cylinder effect. After cementing the new desired edges which made our cube look like a dice we then made the UV this time taking into account some bleeding and saved a snapshot.
         This was when we booted Xnormals up for the first time this program looks like something pulled straight out of the 1980's with awful icons but does exactly what you would want the program to do and is an industry standard. This program basically does everything for you and all you have to do is put in the mesh and its UV and it'll process and sort it out for you! After getting the normal maps we booted up UE4 for the first time and began looking at how to set up a low poly mesh in UE4 with its high poly maps. This was where the real fun began we started putting metal maps just tinkering within the texture UI making some plastic looking cubes and some metal crate looking cubes too. This really opened my eyes to the possibilities with just simple zeros and ones in the right place creating completely different object entirely.
          After the workshop I meet up with my group and went to the library to rent some books for our presentation and began delegating what we wanted to do who was doing what. We went through quiet a few ideas before coming to our conclusion. We then brainstormed everything we could with our idea and began making notes. This was a very productive session that ended with a good outcome that we hope everyone will like when we present. I then returned home and did some research on the part of the project I was handed and loved every second of it. Especially a book I rented because I have heard such good things 'Masters of Doom'. My research continued into the next day I also looked at some Zbrush tutorials to get brushed up on my hot keys and to get adjusted to the program to some degree, as Chris had mentioned we might be using the program soon.
         Another thing Chris showed us was a different technique which to me looked liked a productive and effective way of modelling from concept art. Which is too pull out a polygon flat square and to have a picture of the concept art in the background as you do so. Below are a few screenshots of the outcomes with some concept art that I admire done by Tyson Murphy a concept artist at Blizzard for 'World of Warcraft'. I really liked this method and could see myself doing this method with my own work.
         On Thursday I tided up some of my 3D work from the day before and we looked at some programing this was the first of our programing lectures and was my first interaction with the process, personally this isn't why I do art and didn't interest me much at all. Yet I see that this could be a great thing to have on a CV when looking to get a job so any extra lessons going I will be attending to broaden my CV and in turn the likely hood of me getting a job. After this lecture I went home and dug deeper into my written project and particularly looking at some of the requirements they have and any information or help on the portfolios.
          On my final day of the week i had a texture session where we looked at photo-manipulation using the RGB channels and blending options in Photoshop. This was an interesting lesson where we learnt how to paint using masks in a non-destructive fashion and the difference between a non-destructive affect and a destructive affect. I also got Kayleigh to help me with my pencil to digital problem which essentially is that I struggle to convert some of drawing style and skill into my digital work. She then proceeded to show me a new way in which to think about each brush and how by using F5 and opening the brush options I can make my brush react something closer to a pencil and how to get the smuggling affect I enjoy heavily in my drawings. I was really happy with the help I got as it really started clicking by the end of the lesson. Yet again this has been a productive week with some really good outcomes that I couldn't be happier with.