Collaborating with different disciplines has given me insight into their pipeline, techniques and the way they work. We had to communicate with each other to make sure we created an interdisciplinary project where VR, VFX and Animation come together. Using different programs was a challenge, especially since I had never used Unity before. The priority was to make sure my 3D models worked in VR. Sharing with Klaus and Luke allowed us to look at the assignment from a more narrative/art direction point of view. It also forced us to try to live up to expectations and express our concerns when time and programming constraints prevented us from fully realising the original vision.
Since the visuals of the project were not yet fully established, it allowed us to quickly generate ideas and their iterations. While our opinions sometimes differed, we respected each other’s knowledge and creative input and tried to reach a compromise on most of the results. I mainly worked with VR (especially Ria and An), Jess (we were modelling parts of the same building, and we communicated a lot) as well as Klaus, Luke, and Ana (visually and artistically). We went through many test rounds and solving problems was the biggest and most time-consuming part of this project.
If I was working with a client from outside the university, I would have to be more articulate and faster in my work. This was just a test version, so we should have focused on finishing and testing the product instead of making sure every little detail was in line with the client’s vision. Without proper concept art or references, we were forced to constantly change our models, resulting in some geometry issues and a lower-quality final experience. However, I am happy to say that the communication between the VR and VFX students was a strong point of the Departure Lounge.
My role as a 3D Modeller pushed me to work with new software (Substance Painter) and gain more knowledge about retopologising and texturing in Maya. Even though I am not interested in being a modeller, this knowledge will be useful to me when implementing models into the game engine/compositing software (e.g. as Lighting Artist or CG Generalist). This also got me interested in texturing and started researching more about the Texturing Artist position.
In the end, it helped me better understand Virtual Reality and its limitations. Working on this project made me wonder if I would like to work on VFX projects that can be transferred to Virtual Reality. There is potential to create amazing immersive environments and I am interested in working on assignments similar to this.
