# Environment Design

# Report Log

## Tue 03/Oct

### Initial Ideas

#### Large Peaceful Lodge
- Overgrown
- Multiple floors
- Hidden in trees
- king has been exiled, now a humble farmer living with wife and children
- Warm
- Wood


#### Castle
- Very large
- Stone
- Cold
- Dark


#### Tavern
- Foliage
- Wood
- Warm lighting
- Large
- Name


#### Fantasy House
- Wooden
- Small
- Warm lighting


#### Boat Building
- Building make on a raft or boat
- Wooden
- Janky/Roughly made


#### Cyberpunk
- Neon
- Cold
- Rough
- Metal
- Wires
- Overpopulated
- Dark


> https://pin.it/3l6GOkS

A Pinterest board with lots of ideas that inspire me

### Humble King Idea
A King is exiled from his kingdom, this idea would have this king living in a excluded, hidden lodge with his family as a farmer.
- Overgrown
- creates some camouflage
- shows age
- Made from wood
- this is the material they would have access too
- homely
- Warm lighting
- Creates a sense of safety
- happiness
- freedom

### Floating Tavern Idea

I really liked the idea of a floating tavern that could travel around the kingdom serving people and creatures food and drinks.
- It would be able to travel of calm waters
- would not need sails or deep sea equipment
- Warm lighting and colours
- creates a safe, calm and inviting environment
- Slightly overgrown
- Shows age
- Creates nostalgia and a familiarity
- The tavern would be old and notorious
- famous among the kingdom
- building will need to look old and worn down


These where my very first ideas and thoughts that I created in the first lesson


I really liked the idea of a building on a raft/boat, so i used Adobe Firefly Ai.

## Wed 04/Oct

Firstly I looked at others art work to see how they constructed their buildings, environment and lighting. There was a common theme of wood and tiles


> https://app.milanote.com/1QOnpo1Ya9aocO?p=htGBYnvnqjG

### Medieval house structure


I went to the source of the fantasy genre, which is the time period it was set. Medieval England, also known as the dark ages or middle ages, set between 476AD lasting 1000 years and ending around 1400 - 1450AD. I looked at how these buildings would have been structured and why they where built this way. I wanted to set my tavern around the time 1350-1450AD, this is near the end of the medieval times so the structures would be more developed. Buildings would be build using stone or brick for the base of the building, wooden struts as the core frame of the house and then be filled in with wattle and daub (mixture of mud, straw, and manure). In those times you would buy a plot of land for a certain price and could build how you wanted to, this is why lots of building would overhang onto the streets as this was the way to expand but not have to pay more for the land.

### Boat/Raft Structure


https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/how-to-build-a-winning-raft/
> The link I used to see how to make a raft

I researched into how a boat and rafts are make as I would want my tavern to float. Boats back then would have been made of timber which would have been warped. To do this they would soak the timber struts in water, which would soften the wood allowing them to slowly bend over time as the water would dry. These would be used at the bottom of the ship to create buoyancy, keeping the boat afloat. This would allow the boat to be able to sail on open water and carry huge amounts of weight. A raft of the other hand are a lot smaller. These can be made quickly but wont be able to carry anywhere near as much weight. They are created by using logs and rope, the logs are placed perpendicular to each other and tied together. I decided to make my tavern on a large raft as I would not want the tavern to sail on open waters. It is also not big enough to need a hull like the cargo boats.


2D Sketch idea for the tavern. I did not want to add a standard stone base to the tavern as it would make the tavern too heavy for the raft. It also would not look aesthetically pleasing. It is important for me to remember how the player will look at the tavern and make sure it is easily recognisable as a tavern.

### Blockouts




These are my first basic block outs for the 3D model. I wanted to create some block outs quite early on in my process as it really helps me visualize how my tavern will look once I build on it.

## Sun 8/Oct

### Final Blockout Models



Final Block out Model. I have created this very procedurally as i have made all the walls and floors out of 1 by 1 blocks. This will make it very easy to texture as I will only need to texture a few faces, then apply that texture to other faces.

## Mon 09/Oct

### Wooden Bar Stool Models




Wooden bar Stools

### Table Models



Wooden round table

## Wed 11/Oct

### Rope Creation


I started to create the raft and safety ropes the go around the raft. To do this I used the Curve tools to create a curve, then from these I used the sweep mesh to create the 3D model from them.

## Mon 16/Oct

### Creating Tavern Structure





Over the week I have been working on the tavern making the wooden struts and the bar area making sure to refer back to the medieval house designs.

## Tue 17/Oct

### Bridge Base Design



I created the base design for the bridge that is connecting the two buildings. This is the current look of the tavern after adding all the structural beams on the corners of the tavern.

## Thu 19/Oct

### Tavern Progression


I added some more beams and cut out some of the wall to allow passage through the bridge. I i also added some stairs to the side of the tavern as i had forgotten to add them at the start.

## Sun 22/Oct

### Window Modeling





> Art Window Inspiration - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/101964379056868828/

I modeled some windows which I added to the building. I cut out part of the wall so I could put the windows in. this lets me open the windows making them functional. I also added more structural beams, under the overhead parts of the tavern. As seen in the art above.

## Tue 24/Oct

### Development



I added more beams and windows to the tavern. I also added some doors to the tavern.

## Wed 25/Oct

### Roof Tiles


I created the roof tiles and laid them on top if the roof. I have made them procedurally allowing me to only need to texture 4 tiles and the whole roof will be textured. I decided to create the roof like this because I wanted it to be as detailed as possible in the shortest time. I could have refined this more by creating a texture for the roof instead, which would have optimised the model a lot, but it would have taken me a lot longer and might not have looked as good.

## Thu 26/Oct

### Detailing

> Art inspiration https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/130885932913732228/



I added more details to the walls and added more windows. I also made the small shelter on the side of the tavern. I made these procedurally, making it easy to texture. I also made a big change to the bottom of the tavern. I decided to cut out the bottom as I felt it made it look more natural. I also wanted to add a crafting/blacksmith area which would be crucial in the game for the player to be able to make weapons and resources.

## Fri 27/Oct

### Idea Development

> https://virginiarowing.com/sculling-boats/

> https://hirstarts.com/watermill/watermill.html


I changed the raft and added a way for the raft to move around the kingdom and dock areas. Looking at basic water travel, single person row boats are moved using 2 oars. When both oars are being used the boast will travel forward in a straight line if one side is used more the boat will turn the opposite way. Also around the medieval times watermills where just starting to be used. They would be built in rivers and use the rivers current to power the making of bread and other foods. Using these ideas I thought I could add 2 big water wheels to either side of the raft that could be used for travel. They would work off a magical dust that would be collected by the player as fuel. The player would be able to travel with the tavern by using the 2 water wheels, they would do this by putting more or less power into the wheels allowing them to move in any direction.

## Mon 30/Oct

### Asset Production






I created some more props to be used in the tavern. I used nCloth on the bed to make a sheet for the bed. I used these props in the scene to create a busy environment. I want the tavern to look extremely busy but not have to use models of people to do so.

## Tue 31/Oct

### Asset Production

> Light inspiration




I created more props and my first light to add to the scene, these are going to be all around the tavern to add more realism and business. To make the bed I used the nCloth feature in maya which let me make the sheet.

## Thu 02/Nov

### Asset Creation and Lighting



I created a basic light to go on the outside of the tavern. I did this by putting a point light inside a box and changing the material of some of the faces so that they are slightly transparent and increases the diffusion to make them frosty. I dotted some around and also used the candles from my other light to put on the tables. I tried out using a lot lit setting to see how the lights looked.

## Sat 04/Nov

### Asset Creation

> Desk Inspiration




I made some props to go in the bedroom of the tavern. I also started to make a fantasy bow that could be used in the game as a legendary weapon. It uses lightning as the arrow and string. I will also use it as a prop in the blacksmiths.

## Mon 06/Nov

### Asset Creation




I added all the props I have made to the interior of the house, the second floor is an eating and drinking area. The 3rd floor is the bedroom for the player to go to sleep. Customize there characters appearance, by using the wardrobe. Access there stash, which can store anything from there inventory, which could be; weapons, consumables, crafting items etc. The top floor is the storage room for all of the taverns supplies.

## Tue 07/Nov

### Asset Creation



I created the sign for the tavern as well as some plants to be placed around the tavern. I made these by using the paint effect tool, which allowed me to paint the plants into the scene then convert then to a mesh.

## Wed 08/Nov

### Asset Creation





I created some more props to go into my scene.

## Fri 10/Nov

### Texturing



Even though I am not completely finished with my modeling I wanted to start some texturing for my tavern. I started with the wood texture for the pillers. I did this using Adobe Substance painter. When I put the texture on the piller it changed the mesh a lot, I am yet to understand why but will be fixing it.

## Mon 13/Nov

### Texturing


I fixed the texture on the wooden pillers. The reason behind this was the height maps where clashing with the mesh. To fix this I lowered the height of the texture making the wood let rigid. I also added texture to the wall combing a marble texture, dirt and changing the roughness.

## Tue 14/Nov

### Texturing



I texture the planks on the floor of the tavern, They where too big at first so I had to scale down the texture, making it

## Wed 15/Nov

### Texturing and Problem Solving


I uv mapped and textured the round table making sure to add texture and depth to the wood. I added stains and dirt to emphasize the age of the table. this is a screenshot of substance painter.


When I imported the textures from substance painter this is how the table looked. After a while I worked out that there was a problem with the height and displacement maps and nodes. I had to change the displacement boundary to accommodate for the height map so the texture would render correctly.


This is the final render for the table.

## Thur 16/Nov

### Texturing



I textured the small table in substance painter, making sure to add details like dirt, stains, scratches and wood engraving to add a realistic effect. The table should look old and worn down, which i think i have been able to show in this texture.


Final texture for small table

## Fri 17/Nov

### Texturing and Problem Solving


Unfortunately this had the same issue as the last table. There was a problem with the displacement node, so i had to change the boundary again.


Final render for large table


Final texture for the floor


## Final UVing and Texturing 20th Nov - 22nd Dec

UVing and texturing took a few weeks to finalise. These are the main props that I textured over the month.


This was the UV for the water wheel. This took a while as there was lots of components I had to UV correctly. I wanted to make sure it looks realistic as it is the biggest prop on the tavern.


Screenshot of one of the bar stools. I was really happy with this, as I put a lot of detail into the leather to create the old, worn cracked look.






This is the furnace screenshot in substance painter. I was really happy with the detail on this one. I added a welding height map on the edges as well as scratches, dirt and rust to create an old, rusty and used furnace.


## Final Renders


Front View


Back View


Table Setting


Front View at Night


Tables at Night


Bar Area


Blacksmith


First Floor Seating Area


Second Floor Bedroom


Third Floor Storage Room

---

I am extremely happy with my end product but there where some things I would change if I could do it again. Firstly I could have optimised the way I created some of my models. As I went through this project I learnt a lot on how to create the correct and most efficient topology. I did not demonstrate this when creating my wooden beams, at the start, for the Tavern structure. As they do look good, they have way too many faces for what is needed. I could have instead created the texture on substance painter, which would have been a lot more optimal. This also goes for the tiles on the roof. They are all individual blocks containing around 15-20 faces each, this is way too many. In my opinion this creates a more realistic roof and is better for aesthetics but would be awful for a game. Instead, next time I could create a tileable texture for the roof tiles, adding height maps to create the bumpy effect. This would be way more optimal and could then be using in games effectively.

Saying this, there were some aspects which I think I really excelled in. The texturing, lighting and UV mapping in this project is some of the best I have ever done and I think it looks realistic and professional. The main objective I wanted to hit was, creating a tavern that is busy and lively without having characters in the scene. I think this really creates the right atmosphere by making the tavern feel old and worn but busy and notorious. A lot of this came down to the amount of research I did. I think that really helped with my ideas and how I wanted the tavern to look.

Over the time of making this project I have been learning Unreal engine. If I were to make this again I would like to use unreal for a lot more of the project. I would make the assets in maya then texture in substance or unreal then assemble it in unreal. This would allow me to utilise the lighting and tools within unreal, which I think would have created a better outcome. If I had more time I would have imported my tavern into unreal and tried to create a scene within there. I would have also added a lot more props like; animal heads on walls, food on tables, flags more weapons, books ect. I feel like I managed to get a lot of the base structure and environment built and textured but did not add the small details that would have excelled the project. I could have also done some small animations or a diorama around the tavern to add some more life.

In this project I have learned to use unreal engine, which I would like to use in further projects moving forward. I have practiced how to UV map and texture in substance painter and how to use the correct topology. I have researched fantasy environments and props which I have used to create a floating tavern with bars, blacksmiths, bedrooms and dining areas. I will use these skills in future projects and models.