Sunday, August 28, 2022

My Journey in Unreal Engine

 Hey everyone! It's been a busy weekend, but don't worry, I've been hard at work exploring all there is to explore in the land of 3D!

I hope you're ready for some progress updates... Because I have a lot to share! Not only did I work on my Truck Animation, but I also took some time to get to know Unreal Engine. Specifically, Unreal Engine 5. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit intimidated by UE5 at first, but after getting to know it, I feel a little bit better.


So this might look like a jumble of cubes (and trust me, it is!) but these cubes are a little special. I made them in Maya and imported them to Unreal. This was a test to see if high-quality materials could be imported in-engine and, low and behold, they can! 

Don't believe me? Fine! Well, check out the wireframe from Maya below.


Now that's a pretty HD cube, if I do say so myself. 

I took these cubes, beveled them, and ensured that they were one meter wide, which is the default grid size in Unreal. I did this to prepare for another project, which you'll hear about in just a little bit (or another post, whichever you prefer). 

But before I got down to the brass tacks, I had a little fun! 


This pyramid has a MATERIAL assigned to it, which can be changed in a variety of ways, from metallic properties to ambient lighting. Materials are a great way to get a feel for your world. Not to mention, but they came in handy on another assignment (I swear, I'll get into it in a sec)! 


Now, you might be thinking that there is really no reason to make a cube in Maya and import it into Unreal. Especially since Unreal has its OWN cubes. While you might be right in some aspects, the customizability of Maya makes it easy to add some bells and whistles to your work. Check out the shweet bevel I added to this cube. Even our friend Manny is impressed! 

Anyways! This was my post about cubes and delving into Unreal for the first time. Was it scary? Kinda. Was it useful? Sure! You'll see just how useful it was in the next post! 

See you soon! Very soon! 


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