Abhishek Kumar

VR Integrated Heritage Recreation

Using Blender and Unreal Engine 4

1st ed.
Abhishek Kumar
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
ISBN 978-1-4842-6076-0e-ISBN 978-1-4842-6077-7
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-6077-7
© Abhishek Kumar 2020
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To mom, dad, Prof. B. K. Prasad, Usha Sinha, and my beloved wife, Alka, for 11 fantastic years of marriage and many more to come. To my daughter, Rishika Ryan, and my son, Shivay Singh Ryan. I love you all.

Introduction

The aim of this book is to teach readers the fundamental principles needed to understand and create architectural pre-visualization of historical locations using digital tools. We will explore all the foundational aspects of 3D design visualization and VR integration using software that is actively used by the industry. We will use Blender to create VR-ready assets by modeling and unwrapping them. Then we will use Substance Painter to texture the assets that we created. We will also learn how to use the Quixel Megascans library to acquire and implement physically accurate materials to the scene. Then we will import all our assets into Unreal Engine 4 and re-create a VR integrated heritage that can be explored in real time.

A huge part of the world’s history has been lost to wars, invasions, and natural degradation. Using VR technology and game engines, we can re-create digitally what has been lost. This can revolutionize the way we can preserve history digitally. Hopefully, after reading this book, you will be equipped to be a part of this heritage-preservation effort.

This book is suitable for beginners in the field of GeoICT (Geospatial Information and Communication Technology). Archaeologists, computer graphic engineers, game technology specialists, and so on, will all find the book extremely useful.

What you will learn:

  • How to digitally preserve ruined historical locations.

  • How to create high-quality optimized models suitable for any 3D game engine.

  • How to texture assets using Substance Painter and Quixel Megascans and keep them historically accurate.

  • How to use asset integration with game engines.

  • How to create visualizations with Unreal Engine 4.

Acknowledgments

It gives me immense pleasure to express my deep gratitude to my mentor, Prof. Saket Kushwaha, Prof. Alok Kumar Rai and my PhD supervisor, Dr. Achintya Singhal, Associate Professor, Banaras Hindu University. Prof. Saket Kushwaha and Prof. Alok Kumar Rai has been the inspiration for this endeavor; without his encouragement, support, and guidance, this book would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank Bhuvnesh Varshney (TR), Spandana Chatterjee (AE), Divya Modi (CE), and Laura Berendson (DE) for the initiation to publish this book. Their helpful comments and suggestions resulted in numerous refinements and corrections that improved its quality. I am also grateful to iNurture and Prof. M N Nachappa, Head, School of Computer Science and IT, JAIN (Deemed to be University) for his encouragement and support.

A special thanks to Dr. Vijayakumar Varadarajan, professor at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Dr. Kalyana C. Veluvolu, professor at Kyungpook National University, South Korea, for providing unconditional support.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1:​ Introduction 1
Re-Creating History Using Computer Graphics 2
Virtual Reality (VR) Integration 4
Topics Covered 6
Chapter 2:​ Introduction to the Software 9
Blender 9
Substance Painter 10
Quixel Megascans and Bridge 11
Unreal Engine 4 12
Chapter 3:​ Acquiring Resources for the Project 15
Sources for Textures 15
Sources for 3D Models 16
Collecting References 17
Creating a Basic Plan 19
Chapter 4:​ Design Visualization 23
Basics of Blender 23
Basics of Substance Painter 26
Blocking Out the Scene 27
Blocking Out the Main Temple in Blender 28
Blocking Out Additional Structures 77
Chapter 5:​ 3D Design Visualization 85
Detailing the Temple 85
Modeling Additional Assets 106
Detailing the Other Assets 125
Chapter 6:​ Unwrapping the Models 133
Unwrapping the Temple 134
Chapter 7:​ Texturing Assets Using Substance Painter 153
Exporting Assets to Substance Painter 153
Texturing the Larger Structures 170
Texturing the Remaining Assets Using Smart Materials 205
Chapter 8:​ Creating Foliage 213
Creating Grass 213
Creating Trees 218
Chapter 9:​ Working on Unreal Engine 4 231
Creating Lightmap UVs 235
Exporting Models from Blender 241
Exporting Textures from Substance Painter 243
Chapter 10:​ Importing into Unreal Engine 4 247
Import Settings 247
Exploring the Properties Editor 252
Build Settings in Detail 256
Editing Collisions 258
Chapter 11:​ Material Setup in Unreal Engine 4 261
Simple Material Setup 261
Complex Material Setup 275
Working with Master and Instance Materials 285
Chapter 12:​ Integration with VR 287
Setting Up Visual Studio 287
Sculpting the Landscape 304
Creating the Landscape Material 312
Importing and Using Foliage 320
Index 325
About the Author and About the Technical Reviewer
About the Author
Abhishek Kumar
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is an Assistant professor at School of Computer Science and IT, JAIN (Deemed to be University) and former Assistant Professor at Banaras Hindu University, BHU. He is an Apple Certified Associate, an Adobe Education Trainer, and certified by Autodesk. He is actively involved in course development in animation and design engineering courses for various institutions and universities.

Dr. Kumar has published a number of research papers and covered a wide range of topics in various digital scientific areas (including image analysis, visual identity, graphics, digital photography, motion graphics, 3D animation, visual effects and Immersive technologies). He holds seven patents in the fields of design and IoT.

Dr. Kumar has completed professional studies related to animation, computer graphics, virtual reality, stereoscopy, filmmaking, visual effects, and photography from the Norwich University of Arts, the University of Edinburg, and Wizcraft MIME and FXPHD, Australia. He is passionate about the media and entertainment industry, and he has directed two animation short films.

Dr. Kumar has trained more than 50,000 students across the globe from 153 countries (including India, Germany, United States, Spain, and Australia). His alumni have worked for national and international movies, including Ra-One, Krissh, Dhoom, Life of Pi, the Avengers series, the Iron Man series, GI Joe 3D, 300, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Prince of Persia, Titanic 3D, the Transformers series, Bahubali 1 & 2, London Has Fallen, Warcraft, Aquaman 3D, Alita, and more.

 
About the Technical Reviewer
Bhuvnesh Kumar Varshney
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is an experienced senior artist with a demonstrated history of working in the VFX industry for the past 13 years. He is Computer Science graduate and having the specialization in 3D graphics, visualization, animation and has an interest in Python programming.

His key interest is Creature animation for VFX and gaming.

He has worked with the world’s leading animation and visual effects studios as a team-lead and senior artist, including for Technicolor, DQ Entertainment, Maya Digital Studio, and Anibrain Studio.

Currently, he is working at Yash Raj Films as a senior creature animator.

He has worked on many blockbuster movies, TV series, and commercials, including How to Train Your Dragon, Penguins of Madagascar, Barbie, Mickey & the Roadster Racers, Tell It to the Bees, Show Dog, Budweiser, Skoda, Norm of the North, War, Mardani-2, and many more.

His projects have been awarded Oscar, Film Fare, and Zee Cine awards for best VFX.

He is currently working on the upcoming Bollywood movies titled Prithviraj and Shamshera from Yash Raj Films.

You can reach him via email at [email protected].

 
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