Table of Contents for Unreal Engine - 3D Animation, Augmented Reality, Virtual Production: 3D / CGI at a new level:
- What exactly is Unreal Engine?
- 3D simulations, virtual worlds: creating worlds together
- Application areas for Unreal Engine
- Advantages & opportunities of Unreal Engine for brands
- 3D Unreal Engine Agency - Danthree Studio
- FAQ - 3D Artist vs CGI Studio
Fortnight was created with Unreal Engine, as was a holodeck for Star Trek: Discovery. The moon of the Netflix series The Silent Sea comes from the tool's ICVFX, and even the virtual K-Pop stars MAVE were created in a collaboration between the tool and MetaHuman. These are the better-known scenarios.
What far fewer people know: Unreal Engine can do much more. High-quality 3D content for medical training courses is created with this tool, as are simulations for the automotive industry, for preparing rescue workers for emergency situations and more. Real-time, realism and accuracy are the tool's major strengths.
But what exactly can the 3D tool actually do? It is definitely more than just software for animations.
What exactly is Unreal Engine?
Simply put, it's a 3D software package that allows game developers, filmmakers and anyone working with CGI and content in 3D to create that content with incredible accuracy and flexibility.
Unreal Engine 5, the current version (summer 2023) is considered the world's most open and advanced tool for creating 3D content in real time.
The 3D tool contains numerous tools and resources to create entire game worlds. Size does not matter. The content can be scaled at any time. They look amazingly realistic, interactive elements are a matter of course.
Depending on the industry, some functions are more interesting than others - the standard scope of the software includes all the tools needed to create detailed worlds. The virtualizable micropolygon geometry system Nanite, which together with the Virtual Shadow Maps enables an enormous variety of geometric details, is particularly nice. The technical details should not be a topic at this point, that would take us too far afield.
To make CGI look realistic, credible lighting is important. This is what the Lumen tool is for. Illumination and reflections enable the true-to-life and therefore credible representation of global illumination and reflections.
Want to change the angle of the sun depending on the time of day? No problem at all. The geometry needs to be adjusted because an external door is opened? With Lumen this is possible without Light-Map UVs. Nobody has to wait for light maps to be baked, and you don't need reflection shots either. The editor shows what is really visible in the end - on the console.
Game developers are particularly fond of this tool because gamers expect framerates of 60 FPS or more on their high-resolution screens. This puts a strain on rendering resources. This is where TSR, short for Temporal Super Resolution, comes in. It's an integrated and platform-independent system used for upscaling. It allows the engine to render at much lower resolution, but with pixel accuracy and fidelity that approaches higher resolution frames.
Video from Unreal
3D simulations, virtual worlds: creating worlds together
So why should 3D artists work with this 3D tool of all tools? The answer is simple: the tools are artist-friendly. They enable fast and precise iteration, no one has to struggle with DCC tools.
The integrated machine learning enables real-time deformations during 3D animation! Other nice features include mesh editing, geometry scripting, UV creation and editing and baking. Assets can therefore be developed and edited directly in the Unreal Editor. This also works with dense meshes that have been created using photogrammetry tools, for example.
So it's clear: this is a tool with power! But what exactly is it for?
Application areas for Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine is really known for the fact that Fortnite was created with it. But the creation of game worlds is just one possible scenario. The requirements here are particularly high, because the animated worlds have to be highly complex, scalable and interactive - gamers have high expectations.
If the tool fulfills these requirements, it can also be used profitably in many other industries, that's for sure. That is why the engine is also used for film and television. Animations are created with it.
Architecture is designed with the tool, which means faster design processes and thus more efficient work. Buildings can be visualized with just a few clicks. Working to scale and importing data from a whole range of 3D applications, CAD and BIM applications make it possible. The real estate industry works with this tool.
Unreal Engine - Danthree Studio
3D Unreal Studio - Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality
Software that can do all this does not have to remain in fictional worlds. Augmented reality (AR), VR and mixed reality, collectively known as XR, are becoming increasingly important in terms of creating immersive experiences.
The complex scenes require exceptional quality and must be rendered at high frame rates. This is exactly what this tool does.
The engine is powerful and has already proven itself for AAA video games, in film production and in photorealistic 3D visualization for products. As the hardware and software ecosystems are constantly changing, the tool offers particularly frequent updates - augmented reality is demanding.
VR training is already being used in real environments. Surgeons train with medical VR simulations. In the automotive industry, vehicle ergonomics are tested in VR.
Advantages & opportunities of Unreal Engine for brands
The engine is a powerful tool that makes the dreams of all creatives in the 3D/CGI sector come true. Of course, even simple CGI such as 3D product photos are no longer created with a camera in a white box!
CGI has replaced the photographer in many areas. The limitless potential of tools such as Unreal Engine allows us to think ahead. What if a product catalog could be walked through?
What if customers could interact with products before they buy them? What if that were possible from the comfort of their own sofa? This is where CGI/3D, XR and gaming come together. The Unreal Engine makes it possible.
3D Unreal Engine Agency - Danthree Studio
How do you work with such a tool? Where can you find 3D specialists who are familiar with it and can use it effectively? This is where Danthree Studio comes into play.
Our artists and designers work with this powerful tool and create CGI that transports our business partners' customers into virtual worlds, allowing them to try out and experience their products.
Curious? Feel free to contact us via email or the contact form. You are also welcome to call us.
