Unreal Engine: Materials for Architectural Visualization

1h 35mIntermediate2019-03-14

Authors

Joel Bradley

3D Artist, Trainer on 3ds Max and Maya

Course details

Learn how to create and optimize materials for architectural visualization in Unreal Engine. In this course, join instructor Joel Bradley as he explores the benefits and drawbacks of some of the most popular visualization workflows, sharing techniques that can help you make your projects look their best. Learn all about the Unreal Material Editor, including how and when to use it. See how to build a base material with the Material Editor that you can reuse on your projects when needed. Plus, discover how to save time by leveraging resources in Substance Source and Substance Share; how to put the Bitmap2Material (B2M) application to good use; and how to create textures procedurally.

Learning objectives
Geometry detail vs. texture detail
Advantages of bitmaps in Unreal
Building materials inside Unreal
How and when to use the Material Editor
Building flexibility into materials
Using Substance Source and Share
Using B2M inside Unreal Engine
Benefits of procedural texturing

Skills covered

Unreal EngineEpicAugmented RealityArchitectural VisualizationRenderingMotion Graphics and VFX3D ModelingVisualization and Real-TimeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and IllustrationDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Create materials that look as real as possible in Unreal Engine

1. Important Workflow Considerations

02 - Why is UVW mapping important
03 - Geometry detail vs. Texture detail
04 - Why texture procedurally
05 - The advantage of bitmaps in Unreal
06 - Understanding scale and resolution
07 - Environment vs. asset texturing
08 - Our choice of texturing application

2. Building Materials Inside Unreal

09 - How and when to use Unreal's Material Editor
10 - Creating a new Material
11 - Setting up the base colour
12 - Adding the roughness
13 - Blending the normal maps
14 - Exposing parameters for reusability
15 - Build flexibility into materials

3. Using Substance Source and Share with Unreal

16 - Downloading the Substance plugin
17 - Using Substance Share
18 - Accessing and navigating Substance Source
19 - Using downloaded .sbs files in Designer
20 - Taking .sbsar files into Unreal

4. Putting Bitmap 2 Material to Good Use

21 - What makes a good starting photo
22 - Using the B2M standalone application
23 - Utilizing B2M inside Substance Designer
24 - Using B2M inside the Unreal Engine
25 - Working with patterns in B2M

5. Benifits of Procedural Texturing

26 - Understanding the Relative to Parent option
27 - Creating tileability
28 - Adding flexibility to our materials
29 - Simplifying materials for game engine use

Conclusion

30 - Next steps