HBO-ICT.
Portfolio
Sprint 2
Concept and Ideation
As a visual designer in a group, creating the concpet art for the game environment and layout that will align visual flow in all one case.
First. Sprint goal
Exploration ​
After the sprint 1 review, I took the initiative to update our mood board accordingly. One of the key feedback points that we incorporated into our design was the idea of changing the outer shell of the shoe, rather than focusing on the inner shell. Additionally, we received feedback requesting more body interaction games for players to enhance their engagement.The hub mood board received positive feedback as it effectively conveyed our concept and vision. However, it became apparent that the mood board representing the overall concept lacked clarity. Based on this feedback, I realized the need to separate the entity and game mood boards from the concept mood board. This separation would enable us to better showcase the distinct vibes and aesthetics of the hub, game, and entity. As further, I need to ensure to create cohesive flow among different vibes mood in the hub, game, and entity. It is essential to carefully consider how these elements can harmoniously merge to create a immersive experience for players.
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Final concept moodboard
Final hub moodboard
After deciding to create separate moodboards for the concept, hub, game, and entity, I found that I had more space on a single canvas. I began by creating the concept moodboard, which provides an overview of our VR experience concept. I included pictures of doors to illustrate the idea that players need to enter each game to customize their experience. Since our game focuses on interactive VR experiences, I incorporated an image of a human and a robot interacting. Additionally, I added multiple layers of a 3D printer to symbolize how each game contributes to building a customized shoe. To represent the connection in between of hub and games within our experience, I included an image of a firefly as a bridge.
Moving on to the hub moodboard, you will notice that the portal, human, and shoe are aligned, emphasizing that the hub acts as a bridge between these three elements. By showcasing different shapes of 3D printed shoes, I aimed to demonstrate how our experience brings about changes to the shoe's outer shell.
The game mood differs from the Hub mood, as our group has decided to cultivate a soft surrealism and utopian atmosphere, look alike to a dream world. To convey this, I began collecting images that like soft surrealism. Instead of opting for traditional blue skies and grass, I chose to use pink as the dominant color, as it evokes a dream-like sensation by providing a contrasting hue. The color palette takes inspiration from bubble baths, showcasing the fluidity of the solid bubble bath melting into water.
Incorporating a Rocky Mountain, we can represent a shoe-shaped structure that players can climb on, thereby changing the shoe's form through a climbing game. I drew sketching a scene to ontemplate how the shoe is displayed within the game and the placement of various objects. Starting with a zoomed-out view to depict a general overview, I gradually zoomed in on the shoe. This process helped me visualize the necessary assets and their types.
Game inspiration image collecting
Drawing and photoshop of game scene
Final game moodboard
Our group has made the decision to introduce an entity as a guide in our VR experience. This entity will serve as a cohesive link between the hub and the games, embodying the essence of both. During my research, I discovered that a humanized-looking robot aligns perfectly with the desired vibe we are aiming for. However, it is equally important to blend a naturalistic feel into the entity's design.
To achieve this, I envisioned the entity's outer sculpt to have an animalistic shape, while its texture resembles that of a metallic robot. The texture will incorporate elements of stone texture and cyborg-like cracks, adding a unique dimension to its appearance. In terms of color, I have decided to use a green or blue base metal tone, as it resonates more with nature compared to the color pink. Given that the entity is situated in the hub, these colors were a natural choice.
Game inspiration image collecting
Entity concept art
Final entity moodboard
Reflection
Through this sprint I've searched and found multiple examples of games that have a hub and entity in their game, these examples help me to sort out our game environment into one page. Through keep communicating with our group members, I listened and adjusted our game design to wards incoperation. On the way to visualize our imagination in the visual mood board, I asked for a lot of opinions from our group mates. In the end, our group clearly agree that these mood boards deliver a more clear overview of our experience. Plus, we got feedback which is the mood of the concept is way clear than before. Now clients can see how the environment of the game and hub are different, the role of the entity in our game.
Asset and designing
Sprint 2
As a 3D visual artist, I want to create a high quality animating entity in a hub for guiding the story game to player by create one entity which and face and body movable.
Second. Sprint goal
Exploration ​
After ideation of entity design in the first week, in the coming week I wanted to focus on creating high quality of entity which will guide whole game in the hub. Since to create the entity, I needed to consider the design of the entitiy which will has two difference (futureistic vibe of hub, utopia and nature vibe of game)vibes in one creature, I wanted to design entity as a mixture of these two environments.I decided to put the big pointy ears representing animalistic feature with gender less body shape. Which means the entity will have gender neutural shape with thin waist but muscular arm and leg. Besides has sharp edges of body representing robot.
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Modeling in Blender
Beginning from male man of human generator
Automatic unsubdivide in edit mode
Sculpting
Manually dissolve
To create entity, I decided to use Human generator in Belnder as a base for entity. The reason that why I started from human generator is our entity will look like cybog feature base and human generator has rig for face, body with well quality of texture. I started to sculpt from man feature by adding pointy ears, exaggerated muscle, thin waist, sharp edge bones. And after that I found they have a such a huge poly to put in the Unity which has limited poly count for functioning. So I found tutorials explaining severeal way of reducing poly through blender market. I discovered there is a way thorugh edit mode, simply auto unsubdivide that reduce poly without harming any mesh for further animationing(Edit mode- Edge- Unsubdivide). But still the entity has huge amount of poly to where even not necessery parts for animation such as hands, feet, ears, and tooth. Because I couldn't unsubdivide only certain part. I reduced them by hand through edit mode and dessovle the edges(Edit mode- Dissolve edges). After this work triangles are decreased as 27,000 which has originally 73,000. During the way to recude poly, Alexander said Unity has limitation poly in one scene for fully functioning, I need to talk with group members how much poly will be taken from entity in a hub scene. In the hub ther's shoe, portal, and environment decoration will be located. But we will use PC for VR experience, we could have more possibility to use more poly.
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​Tutorials
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Reduce triangels/polygon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v5YBj_9_QU
https://blendermarket.com/products/softwrap
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How to install Quixel Bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Cks4mEQYw
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Reduce poly count
Final sculpting in Blender
UV unwraping in Blender
Problem of stretch mark that I found in the Substance
Retry unwrap in the Blender
Exporting format for Unity
After unsubdivide in the edit mode, I needed to unwrap and put that in the Substance painter for texturing. In my original plan, I planed to use the skin texture from human generator, that's why I change shinness and color of entity in the blender. Since that I reduce poly and use the same skin texture from human generator, when I put Entity as obj and texture imported from blender it had the problems that has stretching marks on the UV tile. I need to go Blender again, decided to don't used the skin texture from human generator, instead I decided unwrap the entity again with UV tile without texture. I save the entity as FBX and OBJ, put in the substance painter then designing from skin tone.
I already has experience in substance painter, I know how to start the texturing. It's liked Photoshop that can stack the layers for creation. First I stared to decided the colour of base colour of entity. I decide to use greenish metal as a body colour which shows the naturalistic mood belonging with metal texture. Onto that, I add human skin texture only for high, normal map to make the robotic texture more humanisation. I start to draw the connection lines based on human bone and inspired from robot skin linking part. For the connection dept I used the dark blue colour which is along with our hub vibe. After drawing main blue depth line, I start to drawing texture which is inspired from ancient pattern which is added more geometric pattern. At the end I add sparkle of blue and dark green on the whole body to add more texture of nature. Then, I started to texturing the eyes and tooth which will be shown when the entity start to talk. In the eye I mainly used blue, green, and pink colour which the entity eye is connected from game world.
Texturing in Substance Painter
Layers that I added for textures
Textured UV tiles
Texturing on eye balls and teeth
Final face details
Final entity texture
Exporting form from Substance painter
Importing textures in Blender
Importing textures in Unity
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After finished texturing, this texture is needed to export to Blender and Unity. For that I need to check some part of the exporting format to other program. When I decide to export the texture first I needed to choose resolution of texture and I decide as 4k, and file type has to be PBR metallic roughness which is supported from Blender. And you need to go output templates for chaining Normal map as Open GL instead of Normal DirectX. This change is necessarily need if I wanted to export them into blender.
Instead directly import the texture into Blender, but I also need to check the texture is well working in the Unity. So first I add the entity into the Unity with texture to see everything is look okay. Because I planning to put the animation of body movement and face expression, I need to add animation in Blender for a next step. So I went to the blender and add the texture on to the unity to check if I put animation, would it be glitchy or smooth. For that I select the entity in the object mood and open the shade editor and add image texture of Base color, Normal, Hight, Metalic maps.
Reflection
Through creation the entity was challenged from the ideation of sculpting. Especially, our concept has the two different mood in the experience, I need to make the entity worked as a connector. And when I stared to sculpting in blender, I should consider the poly count of the entity for better performance in the Unity. These approach was the biggest learn I found which is carefully considering the game performance, Human generation has huge poly and the way to reduce them. Plus, when I need to reduce or create the model I need to consider as quads for better animation. These are the part that I've didn't care before as fashion designer, after this found even if I only working in the blender, I more care about them. During the analysing and fix the problem of Human generator skin texture and unwrap, I know the connection in-between for next time.