Journal Entry: Week 5

This week I worked quite a bit on my Specialisation Project, having made a number or assets for my mushroom house. I have also re evaluated my concept for this project, and will now instead be only creating the house with an interior and small exterior; turntable animation. This change will allow me to concentrate more of my time on polishing the overall model instead of creating an entire environment.

I have also worked on my Trello board substantially, improving its content in order for me to work more efficiently.

I am very happy with the overall asset models, however I am not happy with the UV's and the textures. Again I had difficulty UVing these models as I honestly felt the program was out to get me personally (seriously). However it's the best I could get them. I may consider hand painting textures though to give my Project a more 'game feel' and to smooth everything down (as the textures of current are quite harsh). Apart from these issues I feel progress with this Project.

As for my Aftermath Project, I allocated a few more assets for my team member to create while I replaced the grey box Lindisfarne Priory with textured models, as well as adding in the church behind the priory.

This step was so exciting!

I also made the modular kit easier on myself in regards to exporting a set moving axis, let me explain... Last week when I created the grey box, I simply just exported each piece as an FBX and imported them into UE4, simple right? no... Because I exported the pieces in random places on the grid in Maya2018, when I imported them into UE4 and tried to move the pieces, the axis point would be away from the model itself... This made the process of moving each piece excruciating. SO, this time when I exported the textured models, I ensured that I placed the model directly in the centre on the grid in Maya2018, and then adjusted the axis point where I felt it would be most appropriate on the model. THEN I exported the model into UE4. This process was lengthy, however It made the process of creating the Lindisfarne Priory significantly simpler.

On a side note, I also modelled wheat.

My team member and I also created a Preview Video Showcase to both show Dan how the animation will play out and to show our class how we are going. This step took a little while to get used to (as we are normally animating in Maya2018 rather than UE4). However it does allow us to understand how the animation will pan out.

That's all folks!