For my final grad critique project I am working on a real-time architectural visualization of my thesis show. Due to the current situation we all find ourselves in my physical exhibition has been postponed indefinitely and I find this to be the next best thing for both people to experience the space and for me to be able to get some pseudo-in-situ documentation. I have modeled 3D spaces before, applied materials and even created small animations that required the rendering of moving shadows. My intention for this project however is to create a space that can be walked around that looks as photo-realistic as possible. That being said, I wanted to find the best practices for modeling elements to be used in game engines, and specifically in the ArchViz genre.
In order to find best practices I visited my trusty friend Professor YouTube and looked for a mix of finished projects as well as tutorial series. There were several but it seems like most of them utilize 3DSMax as their modeling software. I find that this is mainly due to the ability to use Datasmith as a bridge between their modeling software and UE4. There is a Blender add-on that is under development that allows use of Datasmith so I will be using that for this project. I first want to share a couple finished projects that I feel were the most inspirational.
[Unnecessarily epic music alert!] This is obviously a bit different than the end goal of my project but I felt it provided inspiration on the photo-realistic qualities that are possible with the real-time rendering, which can specifically be seen in the second half of the video when a walk-through is shown. I did find that a lot of the corners of things looked to be too perfect which I need to be mindful of in project in an effort to increase the realistic qualities of the object I need to model.
The elements of this project that stood out to me are the interactivity that is possible for the viewer. I won’t be changing materials or anything in my project but it is a capability that I am interested in for future projects. I do find that the UI is clean and presents a nice experience for whoever is doing the “walk through”. I really also enjoyed the environmental sounds since they add another touch of realness. I think that could be a good stretch goal for my project once I get the photo-realistic elements to a point that I’m happy with.
I also found two YouTube creators that have tutorial series that I will be following throughout this process to provide examples of best practices for general workflow, modeling, materials, lighting, and rendering. Links to their channels are below:
Steve Biegun – Unreal Engine: Arch Viz Training
THE IMAGENEERS – Arch Viz Course 1
I feel that these two tutorial series combined will give me a good grasp on the necessary workflow while also giving multiple perspectives on how to go about doing things for this project. I have always found it important to look for tutorial series that resonant with you and I feel that these two creators will be able to provide a learning experience that I find enjoyable and helpful. Interestingly enough it looks like the second course is currently in ongoing development so it will be nice to learn as this continues to grow.
While I was finding instructional content I also started modeling the general structure of my space to get the ball rolling. I’ve included some various screenshots below. Keep in mind there haven’t been any materials applied and there aren’t any other elements in the scene aside from the walls, floors, stairs, etc.
I am happy with the progress that I’ve made so far especially considering I started over probably five different times before I was happy enough with my approach to continue on. However, I do believe that the extra work will pay off in the end especially when the models get brought into UE4.
Bonus: Here is an incredible cinematic experience creating with UE4 that was released in the last month…