Volkswagen
Realtime Configurator
I was brought onto this project only to build a proof-of-concept and left shortly after, due to scheduling conflicts. However, this project was kept running, so I have to assume we made a good impression.
My task at the time was to adapt the look of a real photoshoot in Unreal, as three turntable-type environments that all take place around the same house, to show Volkswagen our visualisation skills and the potential of a real-time configurator.
The basic structure and geometry for the house was already agreed on and modelled for me, but during the process the structure was rearranged a lot at the request of the art director. As for my own contributions: I gathered materials from quixel (which I modified to fit the aesthetic of the photoshoot, add wear and tear, and mask tiling), populated the scene with foliage, and set the lighting for everything.
My biggest challenge was to find a balance where the environment looked naturally worn without looking too dirty or damaged. A common problem in 3D marketing, where things need a certain amount of imperfections to come across as real, but customers never want to see anything that is visibly dirty or damaged. I ended up toning down a lot of details that perfected the realism of the environment, but that is the nature of working for a customer. I am still wholly satisfied with the result.
Photoshoot References
Final Renderings
Mobile Animations
As a tangential side project to the configurator, Volkswagen wanted animation shorts that would be displayed when interacting with certain points of interest. They were needed in both desktop and mobile format, which naturally limited composition and this ended up being the biggest challenge. At the request of the art director, I completely reworked cameras and lighting several times to get the perfect shots.
Another challenge was that the provided model of the car was entirely unrigged, meaning nothing about it could be animated. Due to time constraints, I ended up creating helpers inside the Unreal level that imitated a proper rig and allowed me to animate what I needed at runtime. Additionally, I had to create some geometry by hand, to be able to animate the rear and headlights turning on and off.
Here are a few of these animations:
