HSM 02 - Hallway | Hero Prop & Props | 4 - 22 - 25

[Professor Gee]

Modular Environment Asset Development Assignment

Objective


Create a collection of high-quality 3D modular assets, including pipes, columns, light fixtures, crates, or barrels, along with a fully-textured hero prop. All assets should demonstrate proficiency in hard surface modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, and game engine export workflows. These models should be suitable for professional portfolios and game environments, reflecting industry standards in both topology optimization and texture efficiency.

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Assignment Requirements

1. Modular Asset Creation

• Complete modeling of your chosen modular asset type (pipes, columns, light fixtures, crates, or barrels)
• Design your assets with modularity in mind:
  • Create variations that can connect and combine in a systematic way
  • Ensure consistent scale and proportions between modular pieces
  • Design with reusability and environmental storytelling in mind

2. Modeling Standards

• Use proper hard surface modeling techniques throughout all assets
• Maintain clean, optimized topology:
  • Avoid ngons, non-manifold geometry, and unnecessary triangulation
  • Apply support loops, chamfers, and bevels appropriately to define edges
  • Ensure proper scale and proportion based on your reference materials

3. Edge Loop Optimization

• Perform loop reduction on all assets to:
  • Remove unnecessary edge loops that don't contribute to silhouettes or form
  • Optimize models for game engine performance
  • Balance polycount with visual fidelity for real-time rendering

4. UV Unwrapping

• Fully unwrap all modular pieces and the hero prop, ensuring:
  • All UV shells remain within 0-1 UV space
  • At least 70% effective UV space utilization with minimal wasted areas
  • Logical shell arrangement with consistent texel density across assets
  • Strategic seam placement to minimize visible texture distortion
  • Similar elements share UV space where appropriate to maximize texture resolution

5. Hero Prop Texturing

• Create professional-quality textures for your hero prop, including:
  • Base color/albedo map
  • Normal
  • Roughness/metallic maps as appropriate
  • Ambient occlusion map
  • Height/displacement map (optional)
  • Emissive map (if applicable)

6. Unreal Engine Export & Implementation

• Export all assets to Unreal Engine using appropriate workflows
• Set up proper materials for all assets within the engine
• Create a simple scene showcasing your modular pieces and hero prop
• Demonstrate proper lightmap UV setup for static lighting

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Submission Guidelines

Required Screenshots:

• Screenshot 1: Final modular assets displayed in your modeling software viewport alongside reference images
• Screenshot 2: Wireframe views showing edge flow and topology of all assets
• Screenshot 3: UV layouts with shells clearly visible and well-packed
• Screenshot 4: Textured hero prop Screenshot from Substance Painter
• Screenshot 5: Unreal Engine implementation showing all assets in a simple environment

Required Files:

• Update your hallway project folder with all the required files.

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Peer Feedback Requirement

• Provide constructive feedback to two classmates on their modular assets and hero prop
• Your critique must include:
  • Assessment of modularity and how well the pieces work as a system
  • At least one strength of their modeling approach
  • One area for improvement focusing on optimization, UV efficiency, or texture quality
  • Comments on how effectively they implemented their assets in Unreal Engine

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Tips for Success

• Consider how your assets will be used in a game environment when planning your topology
• Remember that texture resolution should be allocated based on visibility and importance
• Test your assets in Unreal Engine early in the process to identify potential issues

[LilianaG]

Liliana Gonzales
Hallway

[sosa9909]

I think you did a great job modeling! I think the base for the lightsaber is too shiny and maybe you could add more details to it.

[AP5653]

i think the lightsaber stand is really good modelled and textured but i think the metal looks too shiny on it like it kinda reminds me of the bottom screw part of a light bulb

[Azitel]

Your pieces look like they are a good size for modular use, your topology looks clean a minimal, uvs look good but you can try to fill the space on some of them, and in the engine they look good and ready to set up and use

[sosa9909]

Carlos Sosa

Hallway

[LilianaG]

I think your modeling and paint job on the hero prop look really good!
I would just make sure your using the max space in your UV's

[AP5653]

Alejandro Luke Perez
Hallway

[LilianaG]

I love the paint job on your hero prop

[Carlos Ferrer Benitez]

Love the lettering on the hero prop!
Pillar seems to be missing some beveling around the mid-section.

[Azitel]

Some pieces don't seem like they fit the modular approach, topology looks clean and efficient, UV look good, and you haven't yet gotten them into the engine

[SuperBAM06]

Brandon A. Martinez
BMartinez_Hallway

[Carlos Ferrer Benitez]

Carlos Ferrer Benitez
FerrerBenitez_Hallway


(Tiling Mat)

[LilianaG]

The modeling and paint Job look great! Try adding more spacing in-between your UV's.

[SuperBAM06]

The phone actually looks really good, but you could add scratches on it

[Azitel]

Azmel Enriquez

Hallway

[AP5653]

your hero prop model looks really good, the gem parts look almost identical to the ref image, cant wait to see it texture!

[ARod.art]

Aurora Rodriguez

Hallway Project

[Tialawz1906]

Tia Laws
Hallway_wip_2.mb
My substance painter file got corrupted.

[Carlos Ferrer Benitez]

The inside corners of your crate seem to come closer together than the bottom ones (the part of the corner on the reference that forms a triangle)

[KevynATX]

Kevyn Hernandez
Hallway