Jennifer K
- Research Program Mentor
MSc at Gnomon School of VFX
Expertise
Game Environments, Worldbuilding, Unreal Engine, Asset Creation, Photogrammetry, Concept Art, Environment Art, Environment Design, Prop Design, Entertainment Design
Bio
I create dynamic playable worlds in Unreal Engine. I create assets and materials either from scratch, or integrate scanned assets from a library to design a fun narrative world to explore. I used to be an environmental scientist, so its important to me that the worlds that I create make sense both ecologically and artistically. Even a sci-fi fantasy world benefits from being based in reality! I also design props, set pieces and environments. Sometimes these are pieces of production art - to communicate an idea visually using drawings, diagrams and concept art. Sometimes I design them and model them out fully and integrate them into a scene I've been making. My passion is photogrammetry - Digitizing an object by taking an array photographs of it, and processing them to make a 3D object. This is a useful technique to create assets and textures for a 3D scene, but mostly it's just for the fun of making a reproduction of an object, sometimes 3D printing them. My hobby is digital painting - using Photoshop to paint fine art. I love painting Californian mid-century architecture - capturing the character and essence of both the minimalist boxes of International Style, and the fun quirky shapes of Los Angeles Googie.Project ideas
Worldbuilding in Unreal Engine
Starting with visual research, you will learn how to scope your design, creating design documents and reference boards to keep you on track throughout your mentorship. You’ll set up your basic lighting scene, terrain and technical materials and shaders in the game engine and begin your layout! You will make a scene using scanned assets from the Unreal Engine asset library. If you have some experience using external digital content creation programs such as Blender, Maya or Zbrush, we will design and create a unique asset as a centerpiece. This will be a project worthy of any college application! You’ll be able to show a video walkthrough of a fully dynamic scene running in a game engine, plus a breakdown of your design process. As a bonus, you’ll be able to use this scene as a template for every future project as your lighting and materials will be set up and ready to go.
Conceptual Design - Prop, Set Piece or Environment
Develop a prop, set piece or environment for an existing game IP, or themed world. Starting with visual research, you will learn how to scope your design, creating design documents and reference boards to keep you on track throughout your mentorship. You will use principles of shape language and entertainment industry-standard techniques to develop your ideas and vision. Arriving at a final design, we will decide how you want to present these - a production painting? A piece of concept art? A design drawing? Maybe even a 3D model to be viewed in 360 degrees! This is more than a project that will look great on any design or art school application - you’ll learn how to develop and present your ideas successfully and professionally. You’ll produce something you’re truly proud of and learn development techniques that you can apply to any future project.
Create a still life rendered in 3D
Starting with visual research, you will learn how to scope your design, creating design documents and reference boards to keep you on track throughout your mentorship. You will model assets and develop textures for this project, lighting and rendering them for a final shot. This is more than a project that will look great on any design or art school application - you’ll learn professional asset creation skills that will prepare you for a 3D career.
Create a unique asset to display in Unreal Engine
You will use 3D modeling software to create a unique asset as the centerpoint of your world. You’ll need to have some modeling experience already, as learning the software will take up most of your mentorship if you want to make a scene like this! Starting with visual research, you will learn how to scope your design, creating design documents and reference boards to keep you on track throughout your mentorship. We’ll focus on modular building techniques and asset integration in Unreal Engine. You’ll use some scanned assets to decorate the environment, but the focus will be on your unique asset. This is more than a project that will look great on any design or art school application - you’ll learn how to develop and present your ideas successfully and professionally. You’ll produce something you’re truly proud of and learn development techniques that you can apply to any future project.