https://andyconnacher.com Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton Tue, 27 Sep 2022 17:06:52 +0000 https://andyconnacher.com en https://andyconnacher.com/23-08-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-4-Equipping Tue, 23 Aug 2022 19:25:00 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/23-08-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-4-Equipping <img width="1919" height="956" width_o="1919" height_o="956" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0339fa7a3b3346903008f84f116aafe21f6c8b07365f94cdb4aa012dac09f02b/220823-2135---equip-thumbnail.jpg" data-mid="151140612" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0339fa7a3b3346903008f84f116aafe21f6c8b07365f94cdb4aa012dac09f02b/220823-2135---equip-thumbnail.jpg" /> Making my first game in Unreal Engine: Part 4 - Equipping Instruments23rd August 2022 This blog post is part of a series of blog posts about Bard Game! In my previous blog post, I talked about how I implemented an inventory system in Bard Game - it’s come a long way since then and undergone multiple changes and iterations. A major feature I wanted to add was the ability for the Bard to equip different instruments and play them. To achieve this, I had to break down the process (thinking about it all at once was beginning to overwhelm me). Playlist of all Bard Game demos &nbsp; Breakdown:Check if Bard has an EquippedInstrument upon left click&nbsp; &nbsp; ︎︎︎ If True, play EquippedInstrument. If False, do nothing! &nbsp; &nbsp; ︎︎︎&nbsp;This can be handled from the inventory window This required an UnequipItem and an EquipItem function which comprised of either clearing Bard’s&nbsp;EquippedInstrument variable or setting it respectively. The fun part was figuring out what to do if Bard already had an instrument equipped: If the ItemName of the currently equipped instrument == ItemName of the instrument Bard is trying to equip, do nothing. If ItemName != ItemName of the instrument attempting to be equipped, unequip the previous instrument and equip the new one. Simple! <img width="1919" height="904" width_o="1919" height_o="904" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dc83a61e4c07c69ebd16adcac384601497126f24720ffa0d621539c583fea15a/equip-item-function.png" data-mid="151140102" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dc83a61e4c07c69ebd16adcac384601497126f24720ffa0d621539c583fea15a/equip-item-function.png" />Blueprint showing the EquipItem function Drag &amp; dropAt this point, equipping and unequipping was performed in the inventory window by clicking on buttons. It worked fine but wasn’t very pretty to look at. My friend, Chad (who co-founded Bard Game with me) suggested making it so that dragging and dropping an instrument onto Bard would equip it rather than fiddling about clicking buttons. I knew it would be difficult so I put it off for as long as I could but in my heart, I knew he was right so I began researching how to conduct drag and drop operations inside UE5. It was very complicated and unintuitive but I got there in the end. These pages of the UE documentation helped out a lot as well as this tutorial by Reid’s Channel. Demo of equipping instruments - button based Adding polish Only instruments can be equipped so when the player attempts to drag an instrument, Bard is highlighted - attempting to drag another kind of item does nothing. We then get Bard’s location in relation to the camera by drawing a line from the camera to the world (called a Line Trace). If the line hits Bard and we “drop” the instrument, it runs the EquipItem function. For an extra level of fun, we also made it so that Bard’s head follows the cursor while in the inventory - wow! Demo of equipping instruments - now with drag and drop After A LOT&nbsp;of work and some final tweaking of bones to make the Lute fit Bard’s hands a bit more appropriately, the system was done! Now we just need to add more instruments, record some tasty jams and make some custom animations to support instruments that aren’t Lutes. Very exciting! Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post and maybe even watch some of the demo videos! Take it easy, Andy <img width="472" height="472" width_o="472" height_o="472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" data-mid="151134902" border="0" data-scale="20" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/472/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" /> If you require 3D modelling services or you if you just want to talk about 3D modelling, feel free to get in touch with me here or on&nbsp;LinkedIn! https://andyconnacher.com/12-05-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-3-Inventory Thu, 12 May 2022 19:49:59 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/12-05-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-3-Inventory code { color: green; background-color: #eee; } <img width="1919" height="956" width_o="1919" height_o="956" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e58dfc93a00ce5b0a19896c3fb84e1d054bf4d812a57d888986fb7b37e189a95/220512-2242---inventory-thumbnail.jpg" data-mid="142447207" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e58dfc93a00ce5b0a19896c3fb84e1d054bf4d812a57d888986fb7b37e189a95/220512-2242---inventory-thumbnail.jpg" /> Making my first game in Unreal Engine: Part 3 - Inventory System12th May 2022 This blog post is part of a series of blog posts about Bard Game! At this point Bard Game comprised of: Playable character - the Bard Roaming AI Peasants Houses To make the world more interactive, I began implementing what I’ll refer to as the core systems of Bard Game which were: Inventory system Quest system Dialogue systemThis was a much bigger undertaking than I anticipated as I had watched some YouTube tutorials on the subject but none of them really worked the way I wanted my inventory to work. I also went into it with very little knowledge of UE5 but the journey this project took me on hugely improved how I now tackle issues and approach things when programming so I really wanted to write a blog post about it! In my head I knew what I wanted the inventory system to do and how I wanted it to work but I had a lot of trouble translating that into UE5 so naturally I did what anyone in my situation would do: Ask someone who is miles better at programming than you how they would do it - i.e ask my girlfriend, Geeta, for help. Playlist of all Bard Game demos Planning As a disclaimer, Geeta is not a “gamer” at all and she knows less about UE5 than me but she does work in “Big Data” and is what can only be described as an oracle of many programming languages so handling data moving in and out of databases is like her bread and butter. I explained to her what I was having trouble with and she just picked up a whiteboard, wrote down my problems and helped me break them down in a logical, manageable way, starting with: 1.&nbsp; &nbsp; What data would be stored in the database? ︎ For me, this would be items&nbsp;in an inventory 2.&nbsp; &nbsp;What format would the data be?︎ As each item would store multiple variables such as ItemName and IsQuestItem? etc., UE5’s Struct variable seemed appropriate. 3.&nbsp; &nbsp;What format would the database be?&nbsp;︎ My immediate thought was to store the structs in an array but Geeta suggested a Dictionary (a.k.a map) would be more appropriate as each Key in a dictionary is:a.&nbsp; &nbsp;Uniqueb.&nbsp; &nbsp;Has a Value assigned to it - this could be used to represent the Quantity of a given item in an inventory. This gave me enough to start trying things out in Unreal! <img width="420" height="649" width_o="420" height_o="649" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/76338386b86617e927a840c8cc4fa223a66fdc0af5a2f72a35f12ea740152986/whiteboard.jpg" data-mid="142441006" border="0" data-scale="53" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/420/i/76338386b86617e927a840c8cc4fa223a66fdc0af5a2f72a35f12ea740152986/whiteboard.jpg" /> The whiteboard - alien in the bottom right corner drawn by Geeta Inventory Component As I wanted ANYTHING in the game to potentially have an inventory (for example, a tree could have an inventory which contains an owl for a quest, I don’t know!), I wanted to program it in such a way that it could be applied to any actor in Bard Game. The best way to implement something in this manner would be by creating an Actor Component blueprint. This way, you can program all the logic in one place and then attach it to each actor, rather than copy &amp; pasting all the code for every actor you want to have an inventory - nice and efficient! I started by creating the core functions the inventory system would need to function: A way to access (open &amp; close) the inventory A way to add items to the inventory To check if I’m looking at the player’s inventory or not <img width="509" height="342" width_o="509" height_o="342" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4725a2e8d366ceac4a7e8661f5a1798900905c5fea7d9e294d8f9b4fb3f464db/inventory-component.png" data-mid="142449912" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/509/i/4725a2e8d366ceac4a7e8661f5a1798900905c5fea7d9e294d8f9b4fb3f464db/inventory-component.png" /> Inventory component containing core functions Inventory system logicAt this point all I had was the pieces; I had made some test items, given them an ItemStructure each, created an inventory dictionary for the inventory component - now it was onto the fun stuff - programming the logic. I started with the AddItemToInventory function. I have to say, it was really nice to have to think and use my brain to figure out how to code this and even more satisfying to get it working robustly! I then proceeded to flesh out the other functions, moving onto... <img width="1318" height="590" width_o="1318" height_o="590" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/685f44059ff469e1cf773c940490248944ef8913165598bfe1037969345b21b1/additemtoinventory.png" data-mid="142445031" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/685f44059ff469e1cf773c940490248944ef8913165598bfe1037969345b21b1/additemtoinventory.png" /> AddItemToInventory function Inventory system user interface (UI)Navigating Unreal Engine’s UMG UI system was extremely difficult and unintuitive for me as it has a very steep learning curve but it helped that I had a very simple and clear idea in my head of how I wanted the inventory component to interface with the UI. I just wanted an inventory window that would be populated with Key : Values (Item : Quantities) found in the Inventory dictionary. In summary, I looped through each item in the Inventory and used the variables stored in each item’s ItemStructure to create a UI element (widget). These widgets would act as individual slots and go on to populate the inventory window. <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d5fd10db022053eee3a162ddda35cdd69bd43f18ec8c8b6934cbc78d8ca41c8e/inventory---more-contents.png" data-mid="142445938" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d5fd10db022053eee3a162ddda35cdd69bd43f18ec8c8b6934cbc78d8ca41c8e/inventory---more-contents.png" /> Items as slots in the inventory window Chests &amp; containersThe last thing to do was to add some additional functionality which would allow the player to take items from a container’s inventory and add them to their own inventory. Everybody has chests in their game so I thought why not be wacky and zany and stamp my originality on Bard Game and instead put a fridge in the game? So I modelled, rigged and animated a fridge and put it in Bard Game. Another little bonus test I gave myself was to populate the container with the items in the inventory and have them disappear as items are removed - just a fun cosmetic feature! Inventory system demo And with that, the inventory system was complete! It took months of work learning the engine but the process put me in a really good spot and showed me that I could come up with these sorts of systems myself if I really thought about it enough and the fulfilment I get from collecting items in Bard Game now is truly unending. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog! If there are any concepts you want to know more about feel free to contact me by either of the options below! Take it easy, Andy <img width="472" height="472" width_o="472" height_o="472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" data-mid="142437790" border="0" data-scale="20" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/472/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" /> If you require 3D modelling services or you if you just want to talk about 3D modelling, feel free to get in touch with me here or on&nbsp;LinkedIn! https://andyconnacher.com/10-03-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-2-AI Thu, 10 Mar 2022 13:26:31 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/10-03-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-2-AI code { color: green; background-color: #eee; } <img width="1919" height="956" width_o="1919" height_o="956" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4ed4971e0e2bcd737d43d9f9c0a4f36de87160a1fd3f2fdc30eead14b33b1da6/220310-1409---peasant-blog-thumbnail.jpg" data-mid="135885905" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4ed4971e0e2bcd737d43d9f9c0a4f36de87160a1fd3f2fdc30eead14b33b1da6/220310-1409---peasant-blog-thumbnail.jpg" /> Making my first game in Unreal Engine: Part 2 - AI10th March 2022 This blog post is part of a series of blog posts about Bard Game! At this point, the test map in Bard Game was populated by: a playable character (the titular Bard)some static meshes (the houses) This was fine as a starting point but, as with most games, I felt there should be more movement and dynamism in the world aside from just the player. This would require creating another character and giving them some form of AI. Playlist of all Bard Game demos Introducing: The PeasantTo implement this, I decided to create a “Peasant” character.The Peasant would be a glum-looking fellow with typical peasant garb and perhaps even a dirty shirt. The Peasant would simply wander around aimlessly with a moody gait and, for now, not really do much at all.I used the Bard as a base to begin modelling the Peasant, replacing the hat for a coif, adding a peasant shawl and giving them their own texture map - what a lucky little peasant! <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/05163a4a3d264c6b37b207131ee94cafb0d7ffd805fa3015a4e250252244ecb8/001-peasant.png" data-mid="135883841" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/05163a4a3d264c6b37b207131ee94cafb0d7ffd805fa3015a4e250252244ecb8/001-peasant.png" /> The Peasant! The Peasant - in gameAs usual, Chad was busy coding and implementing core gameplay mechanics so I took it upon myself to try and apply what little blueprint knowledge I had to code some simple AI roaming. It’s not much but I was pretty happy with the result! Peasants! See how they wander aimlessly? A quick look at the code I wont go into too much detail, but the key parts are: Every tick (or frame), the game checks if I have set the Peasant’s CanMove variable to trueIf CanMove = true then, after a random amount of time (between 1-5 seconds), the Peasant will randomly choose a location within a radius around itself and move to it. If CanMove = false, nothing will happenWhile the Peasant is moving, it sets IsMoving? = true and when it’s reached its location,&nbsp;IsMoving? = false - this is to help tell the animation when to run the idle animation or the walking animation. <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b28c9bf5fe81e211d6dc1993628b2432b279bcb07c9af82e0509ad0413033208/002-peasant-random-roam-ai-blueprint.png" data-mid="135887002" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b28c9bf5fe81e211d6dc1993628b2432b279bcb07c9af82e0509ad0413033208/002-peasant-random-roam-ai-blueprint.png" /> Peasant random roam AI using UE4’s blueprints I exported the Peasant and sent it to Chad and for him it was simply a case of dragging the folder into the game. And that’s pretty much it! Thanks for taking the time to read this! Take it easy, Andy <img width="472" height="472" width_o="472" height_o="472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" data-mid="135882157" border="0" data-scale="20" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/472/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" /> If you require 3D modelling services or you if you just want to talk about 3D modelling, feel free to get in touch with me here or on LinkedIn! https://andyconnacher.com/12-02-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-1-from-Blender Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:18:17 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/12-02-2022-Making-my-first-game-in-Unreal-Engine-Part-1-from-Blender <img width="1919" height="956" width_o="1919" height_o="956" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/252409da02b44a770f656bf269cee4302c4a2377210660b4059173ada8ed4e80/220215-1402---thumbnail.jpg" data-mid="133557099" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/252409da02b44a770f656bf269cee4302c4a2377210660b4059173ada8ed4e80/220215-1402---thumbnail.jpg" /> Making my first game in Unreal Engine: Part 1 - from Blender to UE12th February 2022 This blog post is part of a series of blog posts about Bard Game! On the 1st of January 2022, I set myself a goal that I would: Learn Unreal Engine 4 (UE4)Start making a gameFinish the game by the end of the year I knew this would be a massive undertaking and I really didn’t want to get ahead of myself in terms of the complexity of the game so I teamed up with my best friend Chad who is also a UE4 hobbyist and had been working on a game of his own for quite some time. Playlist of all Bard Game demos The main character “The Bard”Chad, myself and our friend Josh were in a Discord call, throwing ideas around and my friend Josh suggested that I model the Bard character from a board game we had been developing on the side. I went ahead and modelled the Bard in Blender, unwrapped him in such a way that I could paint textures onto his face and flat shade the rest of his clothes, rigged him, gave him some default animations using Mixamo (to save time) and then he was ready to send as an .FBX file to Chad export to UE4! <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/37f29211dc7e422451706b3729590290889bd92aba5803b65dba6909321b51fd/220125-2219---bard.png" data-mid="133557092" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/37f29211dc7e422451706b3729590290889bd92aba5803b65dba6909321b51fd/220125-2219---bard.png" />The Bard! Overall run-down of the process was as follows:Low poly block out in T-pose (in preparation for rigging)Unwrap UVs (in preparation for texture painting)Texture paintAdd armature and rig (using Blender’s rigify add-on)Export as an .FBX file and upload to MixamoDownload Mixamo animation packExport to UE4Done! <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eafedda4119d86070e53acb07d0e6f257363b8850008e7683110ee5f5415686a/002-3-unwrapping---texture-painting.png" data-mid="133561116" border="0" alt="UVs unwrapped and textures painted" data-caption="UVs unwrapped and textures painted" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/eafedda4119d86070e53acb07d0e6f257363b8850008e7683110ee5f5415686a/002-3-unwrapping---texture-painting.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a4cbdeccf5a0a67ca6afeb34b7741f0856632a4490280bab1ad7067994b48a0d/004-rigging.png" data-mid="133561117" border="0" alt="Armature added" data-caption="Armature added" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a4cbdeccf5a0a67ca6afeb34b7741f0856632a4490280bab1ad7067994b48a0d/004-rigging.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/531941268216c98cbe7a18558c09f1f9ae822159a13726d974603f3de3fff50e/005-mixamo.png" data-mid="133562953" border="0" alt="The Bard in Mixamo" data-caption="The Bard in Mixamo" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/531941268216c98cbe7a18558c09f1f9ae822159a13726d974603f3de3fff50e/005-mixamo.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f01ac24bfb2b9f21dcbee3ec7662fb05c9e5007588cb2ea4c8e87402762f4115/001-low-poly-block-out.png" data-mid="133559066" border="0" alt="Low poly block out in T-pose" data-caption="Low poly block out in T-pose" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f01ac24bfb2b9f21dcbee3ec7662fb05c9e5007588cb2ea4c8e87402762f4115/001-low-poly-block-out.png" /> The Bard - in game Chad managed to import the Bard into UE4 with little to no hitches. Some of Mixamo’s animations moved the mesh from its origin so Chad had to tick “enable root motion” in the UE4 .uasset file so that the Bard would, for example, run in place rather than run forward in the animation. He set up the blueprints (UE4’s visual scripting) to control the Bard as a third person playable character using UE4’s default ThirdPersonCharacter as a base and got him running around the UE4 starter map. The “game” suddenly started to feel real even though we only had the bare minimum - baby steps! Bard locomotion from Mixamo (I’ll make custom animations eventually) Making more 3D assetsWhile Chad was hard at work programming, I was creating more 3D assets that would eventually come to populate the town of Bard Game. I ran into a lot of issues trying to export materials made in Blender over to UE4 - a LOT of issues. I tried baking the textures so that the work I had done in Blender wasn’t wasted but it massively reduced the quality of the materials when exporting while maintaining large file sizes so I turned to re-creating the materials in UE4. I was still able to use the UV maps I created in Blender so that wasn’t a complete waste of time, but it still felt like a convoluted workflow, however making the materials in UE4 was definitely a massive time saver in the long run as I could create “material instances” in UE4 which allowed me to make variants of the “master materials” without having to create entirely new materials. Adopting this workflow allowed me to test the assets in UE4, ensure that they looked as they should and then package them so that I could easily give them to Chad to drag into UE4 and start plopping into Bard Game. In short, making the materials in UE4 = good. <img width="1920" height="1040" width_o="1920" height_o="1040" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/641303ab81f4794027936ad6fdf402ba45d7ffdc482502d26c58feb4346fc448/HighresScreenshot00000.png" data-mid="133557094" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/641303ab81f4794027936ad6fdf402ba45d7ffdc482502d26c58feb4346fc448/HighresScreenshot00000.png" /> Houses for the town of Bard Game! Made in Blender + UE4 Overall run-down of the process was as follows:Start with the timber frameBlock out the entire buildingAssign materialsMark seamsUnwrapArrange UV maps so that the materials are stretched/rotated properlyDuplicate the entire model (as a backup) and join all parts (this will maintain the UV maps and seams as well as the material “slots” assigned in step 3. which can be read in UE4)Export as an .FBX file and import to UE4Create master materials in UE4Create “material instances” of these master materials which contain parameters allowing for easy variation of the master material without directly editing itApply the material instances to the material slots assigned in step 3.Done! <img width="1917" height="1079" width_o="1917" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2b141eef311ea347d612e528493c8ba9534f1f935f7e7ffe17e2bb556de1e05b/001-timber-frame.png" data-mid="133584291" border="0" alt="Timber frame" data-caption="Timber frame" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2b141eef311ea347d612e528493c8ba9534f1f935f7e7ffe17e2bb556de1e05b/001-timber-frame.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/56f147cf6b2e102a40fd6e4573831ef67e127faa21dc6f6d071627d6ba71a1c2/002-blockout.png" data-mid="133584378" border="0" alt="Blocking out the rest of the building" data-caption="Blocking out the rest of the building" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/56f147cf6b2e102a40fd6e4573831ef67e127faa21dc6f6d071627d6ba71a1c2/002-blockout.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3bf22b4f60617f91d8810fa2554a291ba276de547b6cf305378565253827cda7/003-assign-materials.png" data-mid="133584460" border="0" alt="Assigning materials" data-caption="Assigning materials" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3bf22b4f60617f91d8810fa2554a291ba276de547b6cf305378565253827cda7/003-assign-materials.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c7d1f60ab36ae57aebf2ae2d0d39ea7167c4a772f771cecead3275f467dfb3e2/004-marking-seams-and-unwrapping.png" data-mid="133584647" border="0" alt="Marking seams and unwrapping UVs" data-caption="Marking seams and unwrapping UVs" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c7d1f60ab36ae57aebf2ae2d0d39ea7167c4a772f771cecead3275f467dfb3e2/004-marking-seams-and-unwrapping.png" /> <img width="1919" height="1079" width_o="1919" height_o="1079" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/77333374c304f803af125f2b39bbe77a33d76f38a085d09d76d5998ae137d6e4/005-creating-material-instances-in-ue4.png" data-mid="133586729" border="0" alt="Exporting to UE4, assigning parametric material instances" data-caption="Exporting to UE4, assigning parametric material instances" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/77333374c304f803af125f2b39bbe77a33d76f38a085d09d76d5998ae137d6e4/005-creating-material-instances-in-ue4.png" /> By this point, Chad was making changes to the main Bard Game file while I was bombarding him with assets from all over the place that he never really had time to implement, (plus I kept distracting him by saying “can you stop what you’re doing to place my building to test it” - ugh!).Upon observing our plight, my girlfriend Geeta, who is a whiz at all things to do with programming, gave us an in-depth tutorial on “Git”, which quite literally changed the game for a couple of hobbyists like me and Chad. It spurred us into what I can only describe as the golden age of productivity that we currently find ourselves in. But I’ll write about Git in another blog 😏 Thanks for taking the time to read all of this! Take it easy, Andy <img width="472" height="472" width_o="472" height_o="472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" data-mid="133557087" border="0" data-scale="20" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/472/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" /> If you require 3D modelling services or you if you just want to talk about 3D modelling, feel free to get in touch with me here or on LinkedIn! https://andyconnacher.com/28-11-2021-My-first-month-on-Fiverr Sun, 28 Nov 2021 14:34:26 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/28-11-2021-My-first-month-on-Fiverr <img width="1442" height="764" width_o="1442" height_o="764" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0d9e30301756522f0761a7db13f633b74715bf8d0a362180de50b2d3c20d074f/render-09.png" data-mid="125838986" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0d9e30301756522f0761a7db13f633b74715bf8d0a362180de50b2d3c20d074f/render-09.png" /> My first month on Fiverr28th November 2021Background: Before I go through my first month on Fiverr, I’ll provide a bit of background as to why I started working freelance in the first place: I had applied for an apprenticeship to do my Architecture Part 2 at the University of Bath this September (September 2021). It was great, I had a sponsor lined up, I quit my job to give myself 2 weeks “holiday” until I started at the new place, I didn’t have to worry about funding and I’d get a wage and a guaranteed job at the end of the apprenticeship and complete it as a fully qualified Architect - sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it was. My sponsor pulled out two days before I was due to start, derailing the plans I had made for the next 3 years of my life in doing so. I had no choice but to defer as I had no funding and couldn’t relocate in time (the apprenticeship was remote, the full time degree was on-site).To say I was disappointed would be an understatement but I also had a funny feeling something like this would happen. As I had a year to kill, I thought I’d try my hand at freelance work and ended up making an account on Fiverr and Upwork. The rising talent badge: A while went by with no messages coming my way. Then one day, I received a notification on the Fiverr app saying “your account has been awarded the ‘rising talent’ badge”. I didn’t really understand what that meant so I looked into it. Turns out the ‘rising talent’ badge is an RNG badge Fiverr awards to new accounts to give them some exposure, then after about a month the badge disappears and you can’t get it again (as far as I know). Very thoughtful of Fiverr to have a scheme like that in place! Soon after getting this badge, I got two more notifications... <img width="750" height="422" width_o="750" height_o="422" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6c9df59c48cf6cc11ca5e328f1658eb6b3ef1234146e90378f936208e197bd47/rising-talent-my--gig-posting.png" data-mid="125835961" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/6c9df59c48cf6cc11ca5e328f1658eb6b3ef1234146e90378f936208e197bd47/rising-talent-my--gig-posting.png" />Me, a rising talent My first two jobs: Two buyers had messaged me on the same day asking me to produce some 3D models of their products. I’m not going to lie, I was really excited and was really keen to deliver some amazing models. The buyers were both really polite and provided loads of information and it went really smoothly. They both gave me 5-star reviews which was really kind. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c4a60d203176d5391d41ee4bf3260f33926fabac9df5d0b626982d42520995f0/pouch---closed-front.jpg" data-mid="125835442" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c4a60d203176d5391d41ee4bf3260f33926fabac9df5d0b626982d42520995f0/pouch---closed-front.jpg" />3D model of packaging for a hemp-based product Types of buyer: The first few buyers were great; really clear, gave plenty of information so I could deliver exactly what they wanted, gave great reviews and even tipped occasionally! Not too long after, I was introduced to the other “types of buyer”. This was generally buyers who would ask for one thing, expect another, make their problems my problems, have woefully poor communication (I don’t mean poor english, they literally wouldn’t respond for days and then say “is it done?”) and these types of buyer were always really, really stingy. Some would choose the cheapest package and expect to receive the fruits of the most expensive package. Some would even cancel because they had asked for one simple untextured model but for some bizarre reason expected to receive 35 textured models with decals and custom lighting? What? And sadly, there are about 100 of these types of buyers for every nice buyer on Fiverr and I think this is where the ethos of Fiverr begins to fall apart. <img width="834" height="469" width_o="834" height_o="469" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5e4072f5b303af769def769c91c452a20d947ff5b9286936f1edb4342b39e5b8/buyer-types-censored.png" data-mid="125836368" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/834/i/5e4072f5b303af769def769c91c452a20d947ff5b9286936f1edb4342b39e5b8/buyer-types-censored.png" /> Types of buyer Criticisms of Fiverr: There is a dichotomy that comes with Fiverr. Whether this is exclusive to 3D modelling gigs, I don’t know. But the issue lies wherein you price your jobs low (e.g $10) to get work but if the work that you receive takes longer than 1 hour, you’re already working for less than minimum wage. And if you price your jobs higher (e.g $50) people suddenly expect the world but still undervalue the work they want. Of course, one stance on this issue is “if it takes you longer than x hours, you’re bad at your job” which may be true in some cases. But if you’re working with a 3D modeller who is so proficient that they can model any complex geometry in a very short amount of time, they are without a doubt worth more than a max. of $10 per hour. The other factor relies on the unforseeable nature of the buyer. In my first two jobs, I was given all the information I needed and was able to complete both jobs in about 4 hours. In all other jobs, I have had to do revision after revision because buyers were giving me one-word answers or were telling me “the client changed their mind and they want it like this now”. And when I ask for more money for the additional revisions (because the additional revisions are adding to the time it takes for me to complete the job), I am at fault. Positives to take away from working freelance on Fiverr: Although working with difficult buyers left a sour taste in my mouth, this isn’t Fiverr’s fault and there will always be difficult people in the world so it’s better to get used to it and find a way to stay positive - the money helps.The platform still provided me with a great opportunity to take on interesting, weird work that I would never have thought of making on my own. These sorts of things are great portfolio fillers and can give an insight into your skillset so it’s great when a customer is having trouble describing something because you know it gives you a chance to show off your skills as a 3D modeller.And on top of that, it was always really nice to hear people’s kind words when a product they only had in their heads or on scraps of paper was fully realised by me - it’s always good to hand something over that the buyer is really happy with. Conclusion: Thankfully, my girlfriend was able to support the both of us and our dog Pedro throughout this time. If it wasn’t for her, Fiverr definitely wouldn’t have been sustainable enough to replace a full time job but is something I will probably continue with on the side. If you’re thinking about freelancing on Fiverr - don’t quit your day job. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog/rant! Andy <img width="472" height="472" width_o="472" height_o="472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" data-mid="125834731" border="0" data-scale="20" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/472/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" /> If you require 3D modelling services or you if you just want to talk about 3D modelling, feel free to get in touch with me here or on LinkedIn! https://andyconnacher.com/18-08-2021-Making-DNA-in-Grasshopper Tue, 17 Aug 2021 20:28:12 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/18-08-2021-Making-DNA-in-Grasshopper <img width="2380" height="1618" width_o="2380" height_o="1618" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3090b893bc57fbfd8d9ecb6c2971a56c804e9ddf882b402470d270ba5b0c23bb/Screenshot-for-blog-post.png" data-mid="116689975" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3090b893bc57fbfd8d9ecb6c2971a56c804e9ddf882b402470d270ba5b0c23bb/Screenshot-for-blog-post.png" /> <img width="600" height="328" width_o="600" height_o="328" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/909bee9d4c2ed0e58ecba3d87803d8f3ca6c508fcc7150f55d4d5930f7fc4a7c/Changing-DNA--parameters.gif" data-mid="116953514" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/600/i/909bee9d4c2ed0e58ecba3d87803d8f3ca6c508fcc7150f55d4d5930f7fc4a7c/Changing-DNA--parameters.gif" /> Making DNA in Grasshopper, Rhino18th August 2021For my first blog post, I thought I’d write about how I typically tackle writing a Grasshopper definition from scratch - I’m definitely no expert so by all means leave tips down below! Anyway, making DNA. Example file ︎︎︎ DNA.gh To make things easy for ourselves, let’s say for now we just want to turn a straight line into some DNA - simple enough, we define a&nbsp;point and use the line SDL component to create a straight line. Nice! <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f6871c83a92ef360cf47d7d2408bf6f7a9031f94663db82fe428e32cd416d86e/Screenshot_1.png" data-mid="116704844" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f6871c83a92ef360cf47d7d2408bf6f7a9031f94663db82fe428e32cd416d86e/Screenshot_1.png" /> Create a straight line using the line SDL component Okay, so, we have our straight line - or axis - so where do we begin with the actual DNA a.k.a the double helix? The keyword here is double so we’re going to need two lines relative to the axis.To do this, we can use the offset curve component - because we want the axis to remain central, multiply a single number parameter by -1 rather than connecting two separate parameters. Now that we’ve got our two backbones which will form the double helix, it’s a good time to start thinking about the bridges that will connect them. Instead of attaching a divide curve component to both curves (D.R.Y - don’t repeat yourself) I instead attached it to the axis and used the curve closest point component to project these points onto the two backbones. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1f540323d3fb851e9d87d10053c5b966ad6a4d192eda89ca81bb0f66faac7569/Screenshot_2.png" data-mid="116705515" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1f540323d3fb851e9d87d10053c5b966ad6a4d192eda89ca81bb0f66faac7569/Screenshot_2.png" /> Create two curves relative to the axis using the offset curve component Create a list of points which will be used to form the bridges using divide curve and curve closest point To get these backbones twisting to form the double helix, we simply use the twist component and supply the angle with a value of&nbsp;π - we can multiply this by any number we want to increase the amount of twists in the double helix. Finally starting to look like DNA? No?? <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29270b9fda595a127b1d60bb06e851f51edc4f51ccde9ca573df9c4dfc113245/Screenshot_4.png" data-mid="116708007" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/29270b9fda595a127b1d60bb06e851f51edc4f51ccde9ca573df9c4dfc113245/Screenshot_4.png" /> Use the twist component to twist the points forming the backbones Start connecting all the points using the interpolate component for the backbones. For the bridges, it’s a little bit trickier... If you try and connect the start and end points using the shift list component and the line component, the lines will try to connect one point to the next along the same backbone giving us an undesired result. To fix this, we need to alter the data structure of the points so that they are paired differently - we can do this by inserting the flip matrix component before trying to connect the points. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0175a11105d1ed38653774c2b99af069933c1ae2042c0972eeaf32bbb35e3bda/Screenshot_3.png" data-mid="116708058" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0175a11105d1ed38653774c2b99af069933c1ae2042c0972eeaf32bbb35e3bda/Screenshot_3.png" /> To create the backbone curves, use the interpolate component Use flip matrix on the points to alter the data structure such that the points are paired the way we want them Shift the list to move from one pair to the next using the shift list component Use the line component to form the bridges We could call it a day here but something inside me is screaming to get rid of the first and last bridge to get that classic DNA look - but how do we do this? Why, using the cull index component of course! We could enter the indices for this specific arrangement, but to make the DNA truly parametric, let’s take the list length component and subtract 2 to cull the last bridge and then just attach a panel containing the number 0 to cull the first bridge. Pipe it all up using the pipe component and there you have it, a strand of parametric DNA. Amazing. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/355c73134eb2540a245cff136c8df14cba70e0f22cdf89871d7799c3c0400eb5/Screenshot_5.png" data-mid="116708334" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/355c73134eb2540a245cff136c8df14cba70e0f22cdf89871d7799c3c0400eb5/Screenshot_5.png" />Subtract 2 from the list length component and insert it into the cull index component to cull the last bridge Supply the number 0 using a panel to cull the first bridge Pipe all curves using the pipe component If you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking around until the end! Take it easy. Andy <img width="472" height="472" width_o="472" height_o="472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" data-mid="116708654" border="0" data-scale="20" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/472/i/0fbbb20c63caf00d2f54049582da21b9729584f92fe4b04eb5a26669c78f888e/new-hair-new-me-cropped---transparent.png" /> If you require 3D modelling services or you if you just want to talk about 3D modelling, feel free to get in touch with me here or on LinkedIn! https://andyconnacher.com/Sci-fi-real-time-environment Fri, 01 Jul 2022 19:52:29 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/Sci-fi-real-time-environment <img width="3698" height="2080" width_o="3698" height_o="2080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2b1e4b911e4e2879084279dfed1cf2f892e88ef30442fe8d0bd16c81c3bf6dbf/HighresScreenshot00038.png" data-mid="146864251" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2b1e4b911e4e2879084279dfed1cf2f892e88ef30442fe8d0bd16c81c3bf6dbf/HighresScreenshot00038.png" /> Real-time 3D Sci-fi Environment In late march 2022, I started Mastered’s Real-time Environment Art bootcamp for the game dev industry to better understand the skillset required to work in the industry. As part of the bootcamp, we were tasked with upskilling in the game dev pipeline which ultimately led towards producing a high quality sci-fi environment. Workflow was as follows: Compiling reference imageryInitial block-out stageCreating low-poly modelsCreating high-poly models to bake to low-polyCreating a decal trim sheetApplying these decals to low-poly models in the texture mapUsing textures to create the illusion of additional geometry and detailPost-processing in Unreal Engine 5.0 (UE5)Positioning assets in UE5 Software used: Blender 3.0Adobe Substance DesignerAdobe Substance PainterMarmoset Toolbag 4.0Unreal Engine 5.0 <img width="3698" height="2080" width_o="3698" height_o="2080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1659a42c20d9663245a9b8b18339bde27fd16241cec4b1e8624def0fc2ec32d5/HighresScreenshot00039.png" data-mid="146865078" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1659a42c20d9663245a9b8b18339bde27fd16241cec4b1e8624def0fc2ec32d5/HighresScreenshot00039.png" /> <img width="3698" height="2080" width_o="3698" height_o="2080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e9762b22560b1d7e0d1c268ca4ebe911c72dfab977cf793c338c1a0c230adc2b/HighresScreenshot00040.png" data-mid="146865100" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e9762b22560b1d7e0d1c268ca4ebe911c72dfab977cf793c338c1a0c230adc2b/HighresScreenshot00040.png" /> <img width="3698" height="2080" width_o="3698" height_o="2080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5ab9914391c68282a11f61225f6b294eb63dffb278d7eba70d508d24d05ece7a/HighresScreenshot00041.png" data-mid="146865104" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5ab9914391c68282a11f61225f6b294eb63dffb278d7eba70d508d24d05ece7a/HighresScreenshot00041.png" /> Real-time stills - these are not rendered images, this is how the environment would appear to the player as they explore the level <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/945f962cd38d0eb2afc39f9c6e78b5f16b96d80a0d21ca8fcbafe193e5e94c2f/EnclosedModule01.png" data-mid="146865162" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/945f962cd38d0eb2afc39f9c6e78b5f16b96d80a0d21ca8fcbafe193e5e94c2f/EnclosedModule01.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8ce103f0f62eb7e3906964d3acc65918f38e58bbacc739eb3c30be7138c18832/EnclosedModule01_Decals.png" data-mid="146865153" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8ce103f0f62eb7e3906964d3acc65918f38e58bbacc739eb3c30be7138c18832/EnclosedModule01_Decals.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bfd2fa5f3df157847c7580c7f57273edf166b5cca21075f46c4413a64dd31d8f/CylinderPod02_Decals.png" data-mid="146865165" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bfd2fa5f3df157847c7580c7f57273edf166b5cca21075f46c4413a64dd31d8f/CylinderPod02_Decals.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c9b299cdeaf4ce038578805428d587aa3f9bf473dcb3681c835d3951992631db/CylinderPod02.png" data-mid="146865167" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c9b299cdeaf4ce038578805428d587aa3f9bf473dcb3681c835d3951992631db/CylinderPod02.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8e6a11b5340efe0713709e55ee1a6310434b9babad1440261766e29e265a7d92/Desk07_Screens.png" data-mid="146865170" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8e6a11b5340efe0713709e55ee1a6310434b9babad1440261766e29e265a7d92/Desk07_Screens.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83b85ba21b7dedb3072778f5cf8e7e467d64e96e7e77d8077d4d2c7e4434ea33/Desk07.png" data-mid="146865171" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/83b85ba21b7dedb3072778f5cf8e7e467d64e96e7e77d8077d4d2c7e4434ea33/Desk07.png" /> Individual assets with/without decals, rendered in Marmoset <img width="1920" height="1920" width_o="1920" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cbbdb900312fd0c1b4203825be2d339731075655b32b8a670d8d3a9aad81b116/safety-floor.png" data-mid="146866344" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cbbdb900312fd0c1b4203825be2d339731075655b32b8a670d8d3a9aad81b116/safety-floor.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1920" width_o="1920" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/05dc361d12f438d59b0d306ffc10e14a227ac581285b66038144460aeb53f230/soil-pebbles.png" data-mid="146866500" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/05dc361d12f438d59b0d306ffc10e14a227ac581285b66038144460aeb53f230/soil-pebbles.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1920" width_o="1920" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a81e073613ec982631dcbf866b6144c38a27040f38791fc7e5ec924a918a87c6/plain-shiny-metal.png" data-mid="146866345" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a81e073613ec982631dcbf866b6144c38a27040f38791fc7e5ec924a918a87c6/plain-shiny-metal.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1920" width_o="1920" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d78e68b1bb8726d237f5927a87ada3e6d5eb68739ab34c19b108044562720aaf/painted-metal-yellow.png" data-mid="146866349" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d78e68b1bb8726d237f5927a87ada3e6d5eb68739ab34c19b108044562720aaf/painted-metal-yellow.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1920" width_o="1920" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/368b52b5e83ed3e86ed617a1731ad67a8626fefd6d9a821107dab17e4f95e266/painted-metal-red.png" data-mid="146866359" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/368b52b5e83ed3e86ed617a1731ad67a8626fefd6d9a821107dab17e4f95e266/painted-metal-red.png" /> Procedural textures created using Adobe Substance Designer rendered in Marmoset https://andyconnacher.com/Bard-Blogs Tue, 27 Sep 2022 17:06:52 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/Bard-Blogs <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9b99a83fce4bc615ad9da4f5c7a39356b4c215294e334f6957690fc3d0370221/bard-shopkeeper-and-peasant-render-03.png" data-mid="154228209" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9b99a83fce4bc615ad9da4f5c7a39356b4c215294e334f6957690fc3d0370221/bard-shopkeeper-and-peasant-render-03.png" /> Bard Game Bard Game is a game developed using Unreal Engine 5.0. It is the brain child of me and my childhood best friend and co-developer/founder Chad Nippard. What is “Bard Game”? It’s very much a work in progress but at its core, Bard Game is:A 3rd person, open world role-play game (RPG) in which you play as the BardYou navigate the world and complete quests, making friends along the way It was also a chance to learn the game dev pipeline, giving me an excuse to create interesting assets in Blender, Adobe Substance Designer and Substance Painter. I have tried to document the game’s progress in the form of blogs as well as demo videos which can be found on youtube. Playlist of all Bard Game demos Bard Game blogs: https://andyconnacher.com/3rd-year-design-portfolio Wed, 14 Jul 2021 18:44:56 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/3rd-year-design-portfolio <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/92562bcee8d4388615d6fea302991dc604d07a54f76e88e8099245a2c4972147/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio.png" data-mid="113874159" border="0" alt="Montage of woman spraying perfume on herself surrounded by perfume making equipment and ingredients" data-caption="Montage of woman spraying perfume on herself surrounded by perfume making equipment and ingredients" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/92562bcee8d4388615d6fea302991dc604d07a54f76e88e8099245a2c4972147/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio.png" /> The Scents of Sussex 3rd year design portfolio Studio 11 Project thesis – Perfume Factory The brief for Studio 11 was “Pleasure” and our interpretation of it on site. During my first site visit, I couldn’t ignore the mixing of aromas emanating from perfume shops and soap-stores surrounding me. It was because of this that I wanted to elucidate the act of mixing scents and, as a result, decided to design a perfume factory centred around wildflowers that can grow in the City of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. Overview The proposal lies atop a busy road in central Brighton and the strategy employed was that of a steel truss superstructure suspended from concrete columns which pierce existing chimneys on party walls, utilising the strongest points on the existing site. Using steel cables, the superstructure then suspends the substructure; the perfume factory. The shape of the perfume factory is resonant of alchemical instruments used in the ancient art of perfumery, namely their copper materiality and their flute-like aperture. The circulation about the building allows for a tourist route through the factory which also bridges the unused rooftops on site, turning them into wildlife gardens for the community as well as supplying flowers to make perfume. <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/90f01043842a4720037480dadd0885cb0265e57ebf0332a3a3130f1dbcae5d19/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio2.png" data-mid="113996515" border="0" alt="Nolli plan of Brighton and Hove" data-caption="Nolli plan of Brighton and Hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/90f01043842a4720037480dadd0885cb0265e57ebf0332a3a3130f1dbcae5d19/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio2.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8df4b30f9e1768de4e3bcfc573c14f8985d931be8da97f902fe2706f21ea1a13/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio3.png" data-mid="113996516" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8df4b30f9e1768de4e3bcfc573c14f8985d931be8da97f902fe2706f21ea1a13/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio3.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/57b44aa952efa8b5e11dc12e06c6ff977d4b085b17126083cc005f60a3bd14c8/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio4.png" data-mid="113996517" border="0" alt="1:25000 scale Sussex biota map" data-caption="1:25000 scale Sussex biota map" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/57b44aa952efa8b5e11dc12e06c6ff977d4b085b17126083cc005f60a3bd14c8/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio4.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d09e70eb617a55cb64d7b9fae1da92e59131d2580e88364a13654efafb8a5169/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio5.png" data-mid="113996518" border="0" alt="AA sussex wild flower chart" data-caption="AA sussex wild flower chart" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d09e70eb617a55cb64d7b9fae1da92e59131d2580e88364a13654efafb8a5169/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio5.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/33c0d3ea58de45cdd8fc24c0a72a325dea63c7bf2e6ed6a5e6814d0728cb4c63/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio6.png" data-mid="113996520" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/33c0d3ea58de45cdd8fc24c0a72a325dea63c7bf2e6ed6a5e6814d0728cb4c63/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio6.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/84ef7e3603897e7e8db01a4c749f4988e3b946fc7450c6fa3a103100ec7d8bba/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio7.png" data-mid="113996521" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/84ef7e3603897e7e8db01a4c749f4988e3b946fc7450c6fa3a103100ec7d8bba/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio7.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f5ee72e28ced5c24a27a03b083e08778761453d2aeb0f02e1bbd940e66d6c40/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio8.png" data-mid="113996522" border="0" alt="Architecture sketch model" data-caption="Architecture sketch model" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5f5ee72e28ced5c24a27a03b083e08778761453d2aeb0f02e1bbd940e66d6c40/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio8.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/97b937f3dedb7f4947f330253f8e5710a11b5744de6d5ee65af49badeff53523/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio9.png" data-mid="113996523" border="0" alt="Montage and sketch model of plaster cast and wood" data-caption="Montage and sketch model of plaster cast and wood" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/97b937f3dedb7f4947f330253f8e5710a11b5744de6d5ee65af49badeff53523/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio9.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4ebfdb1cc606be6536b10b734706cf8e85779454044acd719014a5ef4146a4df/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio10.png" data-mid="113996524" border="0" alt="exploded axonometric of chimneys in brighton and hove" data-caption="exploded axonometric of chimneys in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4ebfdb1cc606be6536b10b734706cf8e85779454044acd719014a5ef4146a4df/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio10.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a24a335036f85c7064ea5d1b35b042810725171187179d61151f5f73124551ee/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio11.png" data-mid="113996525" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a24a335036f85c7064ea5d1b35b042810725171187179d61151f5f73124551ee/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio11.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a16ff1b2cefa865f982294a5c23b4d3809259db776ccf66d2be846a586fba240/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio12.png" data-mid="113996526" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a16ff1b2cefa865f982294a5c23b4d3809259db776ccf66d2be846a586fba240/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio12.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/80657dea4a2b92f5406ba296237fd144433f9427e6d7d769dcf14c808ee227e4/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio13.png" data-mid="113996528" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/80657dea4a2b92f5406ba296237fd144433f9427e6d7d769dcf14c808ee227e4/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio13.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2084f5cd4f236152c7836c815011b6f49017c38ecbbd561b4514de24816856ed/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio14.png" data-mid="113997139" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2084f5cd4f236152c7836c815011b6f49017c38ecbbd561b4514de24816856ed/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio14.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f75a919d5680f872064799076ff476d7f8fae472fa2dcfd881ff7e98ef5da4fa/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio15.png" data-mid="113996530" border="0" alt="architecture plan of final project in brighton and hove" data-caption="architecture plan of final project in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f75a919d5680f872064799076ff476d7f8fae472fa2dcfd881ff7e98ef5da4fa/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio15.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6d721d147769e5404f95f45a96410446c91eb1b0e00db0db89a2ae7e38b32fdc/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio16.png" data-mid="113996531" border="0" alt="architecture plan of final project in brighton and hove" data-caption="architecture plan of final project in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6d721d147769e5404f95f45a96410446c91eb1b0e00db0db89a2ae7e38b32fdc/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio16.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5a52f0c3aa57175230fbb0c247f56439f847d7abb099babb05e86cf641faaf93/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio17.png" data-mid="113996532" border="0" alt="architecture elevation of final project in brighton and hove" data-caption="architecture elevation of final project in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5a52f0c3aa57175230fbb0c247f56439f847d7abb099babb05e86cf641faaf93/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio17.png" /> <img width="2384" height="1684" width_o="2384" height_o="1684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b3f0b6b8e1b2e2ddc068be33d9d5e26fe8a1afee908f1ad7b042b1aba3bc3bf7/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio18.png" data-mid="113996533" border="0" alt="architecture section of final project in brighton and hove" data-caption="architecture section of final project in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b3f0b6b8e1b2e2ddc068be33d9d5e26fe8a1afee908f1ad7b042b1aba3bc3bf7/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio18.png" /> <img width="1684" height="2384" width_o="1684" height_o="2384" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/94a608361169c16bc07c6e511ab4b17bba40df8086fe0cb8276dcb865c8704b0/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio19.png" data-mid="113996534" border="0" alt="architecture exploded axonometric of final project in brighton and hove" data-caption="architecture exploded axonometric of final project in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/94a608361169c16bc07c6e511ab4b17bba40df8086fe0cb8276dcb865c8704b0/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio19.png" /> <img width="1684" height="2384" width_o="1684" height_o="2384" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b1430e38243363a7e8f5fd81395eed73108657ae2c098dffe60ecf81075c676/tech-page.png" data-mid="113997402" border="0" alt="architecture technical section of final project in brighton and hove" data-caption="architecture technical section of final project in brighton and hove" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7b1430e38243363a7e8f5fd81395eed73108657ae2c098dffe60ecf81075c676/tech-page.png" /> <img width="5102" height="2384" width_o="5102" height_o="2384" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e19b2eeb7345765d1127cbe0525904f695a023035b9b151163e95eeb9ae4bb0c/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio20.png" data-mid="113996535" border="0" alt="triptych of montages for perfume making factory architecture project" data-caption="triptych of montages for perfume making factory architecture project" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e19b2eeb7345765d1127cbe0525904f695a023035b9b151163e95eeb9ae4bb0c/210714---3rd-year-final-project-portfolio20.png" /> https://andyconnacher.com/Freelance-Work Fri, 05 Nov 2021 13:06:29 +0000 Andy Connacher | 3D Artist | Brighton https://andyconnacher.com/Freelance-Work <img width="1557" height="812" width_o="1557" height_o="812" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a489af9cdcfd56a1d5fc37b05ee023c2ab1939375195fc24e827da05d01b61a5/car-front-render-01.png" data-mid="123665755" border="0" alt="Process 3D model of a Chevrolet Camaro for a project" data-caption="Process 3D model of a Chevrolet Camaro for a project" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a489af9cdcfd56a1d5fc37b05ee023c2ab1939375195fc24e827da05d01b61a5/car-front-render-01.png" /> Freelance Work Here I will be showing snapshots of various freelance projects, mostly to do with 3D modelling, texturing and rendering. If you require 3D modelling servicesPlease feel free to contact me! Wine Barrel Modelled &amp; Rendered in Rhino 7For this project, the client had taken photographs of a wine barrel and asked me to recreate the “wine cellar” atmosphere by placing it in a dark room with a single spotlight illuminating it. They were very keen for me to use the photographs they had taken of the wine barrel’s branding as textures in the model which required me to carefully UV map the textures. <img width="1506" height="764" width_o="1506" height_o="764" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ef34446d59a43b9af6752dbb6014c8fe25ff7329b6c61577d29692d2439a5372/sample-render-04.png" data-mid="123806270" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ef34446d59a43b9af6752dbb6014c8fe25ff7329b6c61577d29692d2439a5372/sample-render-04.png" /> Sculptures for 3D printing Modelled &amp; Rendered in BlenderFor these projects, the client presented me with reference images and gave me a degree of artistic liberty to recreate them in 3D such that they were 3D-print ready.To do this, I used my graphics tablet to sculpt the models in Blender. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2e4eb2094737b08b23aed658a75828b678934ec62e955a29a208d40470e9592b/fish-man-render-02.png" data-mid="129002024" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2e4eb2094737b08b23aed658a75828b678934ec62e955a29a208d40470e9592b/fish-man-render-02.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/28b6750b99a12c2f12ff47a337be98b8fa8037b32d9650d33da84c7e08684279/render-05.png" data-mid="129002026" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/28b6750b99a12c2f12ff47a337be98b8fa8037b32d9650d33da84c7e08684279/render-05.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/96df775a4465abb217aebaa0aa908f6b582b771b732f265e6932c6a59d494bd2/front-02.png" data-mid="129002448" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/96df775a4465abb217aebaa0aa908f6b582b771b732f265e6932c6a59d494bd2/front-02.png" /> Glass Candleholder for mass-manufacturingModelled &amp; Rendered in Rhino 7For this project, the client was working with another artist who provided a 2D image containing Islamic iconography. The client asked me to figure out a way to project the artwork around a candleholder to achieve the desired effect shown in the attached image.I also had to provide 2D CAD drawings to send to manufacturers so that they could make the product.This was a very enjoyable object to model as it required me to call upon some very niche techniques that I have not had to use for a long time! <img width="1442" height="764" width_o="1442" height_o="764" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0d9e30301756522f0761a7db13f633b74715bf8d0a362180de50b2d3c20d074f/render-09.png" data-mid="124213685" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0d9e30301756522f0761a7db13f633b74715bf8d0a362180de50b2d3c20d074f/render-09.png" /> 3D Camaro for NFTs Modelled &amp; Rendered in Rhino 7This project was really interesting. I was approached to produce 2D vectors of a car for an NFT project but I suggested creating 3D models instead as the project was to be gamified at a later date anyway.I constructed the models in such a way that it would be easy for me to replace parts (as is often the case with NFTs) which was tricky to plan ahead for but paid off in the long term. <img width="1557" height="812" width_o="1557" height_o="812" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a489af9cdcfd56a1d5fc37b05ee023c2ab1939375195fc24e827da05d01b61a5/car-front-render-01.png" data-mid="123665755" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a489af9cdcfd56a1d5fc37b05ee023c2ab1939375195fc24e827da05d01b61a5/car-front-render-01.png" /> Blinds Modelled &amp; Rendered in Rhino 7For this project, the client supplied me with measurements for a set of blinds which were to be constructed from a variety of different materials.To achieve this, I had to replicate real world materials using PBRs among other techniques. <img width="2520" height="1391" width_o="2520" height_o="1391" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/974b2e3c41f044fb5262e6b0e0ba515c8a1031b470fd8763149308d78fa6293f/render-04.png" data-mid="129002550" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/974b2e3c41f044fb5262e6b0e0ba515c8a1031b470fd8763149308d78fa6293f/render-04.png" /> <img width="2520" height="1391" width_o="2520" height_o="1391" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/32bf732744f4e36db9cb12114d5c7eb84c26c1085a93351ce4af0d9178017b9a/close-up-07-DoF.png" data-mid="129002555" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/32bf732744f4e36db9cb12114d5c7eb84c26c1085a93351ce4af0d9178017b9a/close-up-07-DoF.png" />