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

Fundamentals of decals

In Unreal Engine, a decal is a 2D image that can be projected onto surfaces in a 3D scene to add details, such as signs, stains, or other visual elements. Decals are commonly used to enhance the realism and visual quality of a game or interactive experience and can be placed on any Static or Dynamic Mesh surface. When a decal is projected onto a surface, it blends with the underlying Material, creating the illusion of the image being “painted” onto the surface.

Here’s a simplified overview of how decals work in Unreal Engine:

  1. Decal Material: To create a decal, you need a Decal Material, which is a special type of shader that includes transparency and can be applied to surfaces.
  2. Applying the decal: You can easily apply a decal to a pre-existing Decal Actor. This Actor acts as a Volume, projecting the decal onto surfaces where they intersect. Alternatively, you may simply drag the Decal Material directly into the scene and a...