Book Image

Architectural Visualization in Unreal Engine 5

By : Ludovico Palmeri
Book Image

Architectural Visualization in Unreal Engine 5

By: Ludovico Palmeri

Overview of this book

If you excel at creating beautiful architectural renderings offline, but face challenges replicating the same quality in real time, this book will show you how the versatile Unreal Engine 5 enables such transformations effortlessly. While UE5 is widely popular, existing online training resources can be overwhelming and often lack a focus on Architectural visualization. This comprehensive guide is designed for individuals managing tight deadlines, striving for photorealism, and handling typical client revisions inherent to architectural visualization. The book starts with an introduction to UE5 and its capabilities, as well as the basic concepts and principles of architectural visualization. You’ll then progress to essential topics such as setting up a project, modeling and texturing 3D assets, lighting and materials, and post-processing effects. Along the way, you’ll find practical tips, best practices, and hands-on exercises to develop your skills by applying what you learn. By the end of this UE5 book, you'll have acquired the skills to confidently create high-quality architectural visualizations in Unreal Engine and become proficient in building an architectural interior scene in UE5 to produce professional still images.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
1
Part 1: Building the Scene
6
Part 2: Illuminating and Materializing the Scene
12
Part 3: Completing the Scene
16
Part 4: Rendering the Scene
Appendix:Substrate Materials

Detailing the Scene with Decals

Decals in CGI are textures projected onto 3D models to add surface detail, such as logos, labels, or patterns. They remain independent objects from the surface they are projected onto and are commonly used in software including Blender, Maya, and Corona. To understand how they work, think of a spotlight projecting light onto surfaces that can be moved freely. Decals function similarly, projecting textures and colors onto multiple channels such as Base Color, Normal, and Roughness. In video games, a common application for decals is simulating effects such as blood splatters, where their characteristics differ from the underlying surface, making decals ideal for such tasks.

Decals in Unreal Engine offer a flexible and efficient way to add detailed visual elements to surfaces without the need for complex geometry or additional texture mapping.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following main topics:

  • Fundamentals of what Decals...