I have to say that the biggest problem I had with this project was the ue5 background turning black when rendered.

When I render my scene the background of the display is black, but in the UE5 display window it shows normal.

I consulted Emily and she advised me not to use SkyLight if I have an HDRI background. this renders it so that the background is black.

On top of that, I created a script for an introductory video and here are my lines

My name is liuyifang from visual effects program. I was inspired by the many different colors of coral, so I looked for a lot of reference pictures. I tried to imagine this ocean filled with vivid turquoise and blue colors. Coral reefs flourish in this area, filled with colorful fish and other ocean creatures. Yet another shot focuses on the waning sunlight and the ocean taking on a deeper blue and indigo color. Here are some unique creatures that illuminate the darkness with a fascinating glow. This part was mainly done by me and Negin respectively. For the building aspect of the scene, first I used squares to build the overall layout and shots of the scene. I used maya and c4d to create the basic shape of the coral, especially I used the “volume modeling” in c4d which is very useful for me. Then I use zbrush to add detail to the coral, which makes the object more detailed. I would then look at the general layout in maya to import into ue5 and put all the models together. Finally I use nuke to create bubbles, lights and other effects.

I made two versions of the scene, one to make it look a little more realistic, and the other to make my scene more in keeping with the style of the group as a whole

I had a great time working with the group and would like to work with them again if the opportunity arises! In the beginning, we presented our ideas to each other and we respected each other’s ideas to modify and improve them, which is the most important thing. We don’t argue or just give up, but rather, we improve each other’s ideas and provide each other with good advice.

Here’s a compilation of what we all worked on, with a full showcase video at the end

I referred to the above YouTube tutorial video on making an undersea effect and it was very useful to me.

Referring to the steps he gave,

1. I first installed the “Water Plugin” and added the water form in my scene.

2. In order to be able to show the colors under the water and simulate the sunlight underwater, I need to add a “box” and add a “post process”, it can be used to adjust the blue color of the whole scene.

3. If I want to make the sea water a little green, I can adjust the “gamma curve”.

This was my first attempt, but it wasn’t very difficult for me because Emily taught us how to create a water material in the first semester.

This week I’m going to look for a lot of reference images of coral models and go with c4d to create the base model and then import it into zbrush to achieve some texture.

First of all, I tried to use c4d to make the base model, using the “volume modeling” in c4d to better simulate the random growth of the coral. Due to some problems with the number of faces, I had to import the model into zbrush to remesh it, which was a very useful way to do it. This was a very useful way to remesh the model, and added a lot of subdivision to add a lot of texture and detail to the surface of the coral.

I tried to use a variety of ways to make different forms of coral. For example, I used zbrush brushes to make the tentacles of the coral and then added textures to them. Also, I used c4d to create the base model and then painted the model with zbrush. Another way is that I use alpha channel and download some alpha maps from the website and use it on the coral model. This gives me very distinctive corals that surprise me.

For terrain, I still use a program called “world creator”. This software is very helpful, I only need to adjust the terrain in the software, and select the terrain features to help me create beautiful terrain details, and finally I export the FBX file to MAYA, which saves a lot of time to create the terrain.

Finally, I put the models all together in maya and added lighting and made a test video using the Arnold renderer. Next I imported them into UE5 to test the undersea filters and lighting to simulate the ocean environment as much as possible.

We’ve had two meetings this week and it was decided that our theme should be more realistic, so I’m not going to go with my previous proposal. And after a lot of discussion, we’ve decided to focus on the “visual poetry” of modeling the scenes and animating the renderings.

the process of project in MIRO ↓

After the third meeting, we will draw our own version of the story. Below are the content of the shots and story sketches I’ve conceptualized.

• A vertical shot showing multiple layers of the ocean from top to bottom, divided into three layers: the sunlit zone, the twilight zone, and the abyssal zone (This part, I’m going to I create part of the 3D model and finally put it into nuke for compositing).
• 01/ Sunlit Zone: The area is alive with vivid turquoise and azure hues. Coral reefs thrive in this area, filled with colorful fish and other marine life.
• 02/ Twilight Zone:The sunlight diminishes and the ocean takes on a deeper blue and indigo color. Unique and often bizarre organisms, and some glowing creatures, illuminate the darkness with a mesmerizing glow.
• 03/ Abyssal Zone:The colors here are muted and life is sparse. However, even in this extreme environment, certain organisms, such as lamellipods and extreme microorganisms, have adapted to the high pressures and cold temperatures of the seabed, and yet here emerges a fantastical underwater city

After a fourth meeting to discuss this, we agreed that the last storyboard would be modified to be more realistic. However, I’m working with another 3D animation student called Negin, and together we’re going to finish the modeling and rendering part of the scene, starting with a basic square in MAYA to show the structure of the scene and the camera movement. Next week I will focus on modeling the coral and cliff part and find some pictures for reference.

This week, the Collaborative Project session allowed us to discuss and share our ideas offline, as well as find partners to work with. I also met two students from 3d animation and one from animation online, they were both excellent and I look forward to working with them. Hopefully I will be able to learn more from them, I think my weakness is that I am very rusty with modeling software as this is my first time using it. So I would really like to improve my software skills to be able to present my work in a more complete way.

This week everyone was tasked with conceptualizing this UNESCO this project short story about protecting the oceans.

1. It is a thousand years later, a lonely ship floating on a polluted and abandoned ocean, surrounded by a scene of apocalyptic wasteland.
2. Its hull is crawling with strange seaweeds, some of which even glow, making it particularly mysterious. The metal surfaces of the ship have been eroded by seawater, but miraculously still stand in the polluted waters.
3. Abandoned skyscrapers still stand hidden in the water, making for a strange underwater landscape. The ecology of the flora and fauna here has mutated and adapted to pollution and climate change. The ocean is floating with garbage generated by human activities, while there are some peculiar land creatures of the appearance (the color can be more bright, peculiar shape)
4. However, the ship was suddenly caught in a whirlpool and it plunged to the bottom of the deep ocean. To their amazement, they found that in this abandoned world, there still existed a huge oceanarium, which had transparent walls of huge fish tanks inhabited by unique species mutated from sea creatures. Giant jellyfish, glowing butterfly fish, sharks with special sensory organs, and much more.