FIT1033 Foundations of 3D
S2 2024
Assignment 3: Crafting a 3D Diorama [30%]
Brief
This assignment involves the design and creation of an environment that features stylised textures. Your scene will be confined within the limits of a set stage provided on Moodle.
While the inspiration for the 3D modelling of your scene may draw from real or fictional references, the textures in your scene will be created by you using Substance Painter.
Please note: any textures, 3D models, and materials downloaded from the internet will be considered as evidence of plagiarism (note: students can use any materials from the Adobe Substance Painter library).
Once your scene is modelled and textured, you will export it to a supplied Unity project and add dynamic lighting. Your environment is primarily architectural, though it may include plants and other natural elements.
Environment Design
A diorama is a three-dimensional scene that captures a moment in time. What defines a historic theme or a future theme is quite flexible, but it generally entails imagining something different from everyday experience (i.e. the present). Choosing either setting for your diorama entails different challenges – your selection of visual references will guide your concept. Your diorama will include a range of objects that add visual interest and hint at something about the kind of people that might inhabit it. Your scene must contain 1 major set piece, as a focus for your composition and narrative. It will also contain a minimum of 3 minor props as “set dressing” which can be used multiple times throughout the scene.
The stage we provide for your scene can be edited in minor ways, either to allow for dramatic lighting, or changes in composition; however, the general scale and shape of the scene stage must not be changed. Your stage must be textured in such a way to complement the visual style. and composition of the scene. Careful consideration for both material design and lighting will be important criteria in this assignment. Your prior conceptual and visual research will be key in crafting an original creation.
Deliverables
Submissions for this assignment should contain the following (three items):
(a) A Maya project folder with scene file
This should contain your final Maya file (though you should save earlier versions!) You are also required to submit all exported textures created for this assignment; these will be held in the sourceimages folder of your project. Note: You do not need to submit your Substance Painter Project as these files can easily exceed 100MB.
However, you must make these files available upon request by your tutor.
(b) A Unity3D Build (Mac or PC)
Importing your scene into Unity and exporting your scene as an interactive build: note, the build is not the Unity project file (you don’t need to submit this)Documentation as a PDF document
(c) Documentation as a PDF document
Your documentation should contain research, references, screenshots, analysis,
and descriptions of your technical decision-making process with the aim of
illustrating your process for this assignment. You can include screenshots from the screen recordings you take during your modelling process (see note below)
Further information on what your documentation should contain will be provided by your tutor and available on Moodle.
Note: Your screen recorded videos do not need to be submitted with your
assignment, but must be made available in the event that your tutors request
them when marking your work. These videos can be deleted once your assignment has been marked and feedback has been returned to you.
Submission is via Moodle. ALL submitted items must be named in a clear and logical way and compressed into a single .zip file, which should be named with the assessment number, and your name.
The maximum total file-size for this submission is 100MB.
Assessment Criteria
Your submission will be graded on the following criteria:
Quality of 3D scene, modelling, and geometry [9 marks]
● Complete scene modelling of architecture, infrastructure, and associated set dressing
● Clean and Efficient Geometry
● Use of modelling tools & techniques
Quality of UV mapping & materials [9 marks]
● Application of UV mapping techniques and texturing tools
● Appropriate use and consideration of 3D materials
● Application of PBR map types (Albedo colour, normal, metal, roughness, emission)
Unity Presentation [4 marks]
● Application of real-time lighting techniques
● Visual impact of your scene’s composition in your final Unity Build
Written and Visual documentation [8 marks]
● Discussion of inspiration, research, design, and planning
● Coverage of 3D process (including modelling, material design and application, lighting, and Unity)
● Use of images/screenshots and other visual resources to illustrate workflow
● Explanation and reflection of decision-making process