In Week 4, I continued to use the Sequencer in Unreal Engine and started working on creating Materials.
I learned how to set up Shots in the Sequencer, which is key for staying organized when using several cameras. To create a Shot, you first add a Subsequence track by clicking the Add button in the Sequencer menu. This Subsequence Track helps keep track of and manage the different cameras used for various tasks.
I learned how to create Shots in Unreal Engine’s Sequencer:
- To create Shots, generate a Level Sequence from the Cinematics menu.
- Ensure proper naming for better organisation.
- Add these sequences to the Subsequence Track, where you can adjust their lengths.
- To assign cameras to Shots:
- Select the desired camera.
- Press Ctrl + X to cut the camera.
- Double-click on the chosen Shot to paste the camera into it.
This week, I also learned how to create Materials in Unreal Engine. I started by downloading a Material from Quixel Bridge and importing it into Unreal Engine. Then, I created a new Material and used the Material’s node editor to add the following maps from the imported Material:
- R Channel: Ambient Occlusion
- G Channel: Roughness
- B Channel: Displacement
I connected the maps as follows:
- The RGB channel of the Colour Map to the Base Colour
- The G channel of the Roughness Map to the Roughness input
- The RGB channel of the Normal Map to the Normal input of the new Material
Afterward, I started experimenting with the tiling of the Material. To do this, I incorporated several nodes, including Texture Coordinate, Multiply, and Add. By adding these nodes, I was able to adjust the tiling according to different requirements. I played around with different values to see how each adjustment impacted the appearance of the Material. This exploration not only helped me understand how tiling works but also allowed me to visualise a range of outcomes, giving me greater insight into the creative possibilities within materials in UE.
Once I created a Material, I was guided to generate a Material Instance. This is done by right-clicking on the Material I created and selecting the Material Instance option from the menu. The primary distinction between a Master Material and a Material Instance is that the Material Instance inherits all the properties from the Master Material.
This inheritance enables real-time updates and adjustments, allowing for more flexibility and efficiency in the material design process. By using Material Instances, I can tweak parameters without altering the original Master Material, making it easier to experiment with different looks while maintaining a consistent base. In conclusion, this week was very informative as I enhanced my skills in material creation and manipulation in UE.