Car in the Garage

McLaren Spider Result from the Project

As my journey in Game Design continues, I embarked on a new practice project: Car in the Garage.

Building on the success of my last project, Living Room Architecture Visualization, I decided to advance with the course and tackle this new challenge. Unlike the previous project, this one focused more on rendering rather than animation, allowing me to hone my skills in lighting and texturing. Below, I outline the steps I took and the challenges I faced during this project.

Importing OBJ in Unreal Engine

I started by finding a McLaren Spider car model on SketchFab, but it was in OBJ format, not FBX. When importing OBJ models into Unreal Engine, they often come as a single, unified model. This is problematic for texturing since different parts of the car (like wheels, glass, and mirrors) require different materials. To resolve this, I needed to convert the OBJ file to FBX format first.

Converting OBJ to FBX

To convert the OBJ model to FBX, I used Blender. Blender is my go-to 3D design software because it's free and user-friendly. The conversion process is straightforward:

1. Import the OBJ file into Blender.
2. Export the model as an FBX file. That's it! The model is now ready for Unreal Engine.

Texturing the Model in Unreal Engine

With the car model now in FBX format, I imported it into Unreal Engine. Texturing the model was the main focus of the project. I referenced the initial SketchFab image to replicate the colors and used the Automotive Materials Asset Pack by Epic Games. This pack is incredibly versatile and customizable, making it perfect for car models.

Creating Environment in Unreal Engine using Quixel Bridge

Once the car was textured, I moved on to creating the environment. I chose a garage setting made of bricks with windows to allow natural light. Using Quixel Bridge Megascan assets, I built a modular garage environment with a single asset pack that included walls and windows. This provided all the elements needed to create a realistic scene.

Lighting in Unreal Engine

For the lighting, I used Unreal Engine's Lumen system combined with post-processing volume adjustments. I tweaked the exposure and contrast to get the desired look and added extra rectangle lights to supplement the sunlight. The goal was to blend these lights seamlessly with the natural light to enhance realism.

Taking a High-Resolution Picture of the Rendered Car

The final step was rendering a high-resolution image of the car in its garage setting. I switched the lit mode to path-tracing mode and allowed the scene to render fully. Unreal Engine has a built-in feature to capture high-resolution screenshots. I adjusted the screen percentage to 160 (although 200 can be used for higher quality, it depends on system specs) to avoid crashes and ensure a smooth rendering process. The final rendered image was saved directly to my system.

Challenges

The main challenge today was importing the OBJ model into Unreal Engine, as it required conversion to FBX for proper texturing and component management.

Breakthroughs

I successfully rendered a photorealistic image of a McLaren Spider standing in a meticulously crafted garage environment. This achievement was a significant milestone in my learning journey.

Resources Used

• Udemy course by Nafay Sheikh: Click Here for the course

As mentioned, in my last blog about MAAC Institute, I am looking forward to join the institue as soon as possible and continue to share the valuable insights about the Game Design and Animation till then hoping for the best and waiting for the rest...