Peihang's 3D computer animation Blog

Category: Unreal Engine

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Uncategorised Unreal Engine

Week 3: References & Basic Ideas

While sketching, a thought suddenly struck me — wouldn’t it be interesting if I turned it into a scene with a sense of dilapidation?
Right now, I haven’t figured out the main camera movements for the video yet; I’ve only settled on an overall atmosphere. The first atmosphere I’m going for is a messy, cluttered, and even somewhat shabby birthday celebration.
However, I also feel that this version might lack the warmth and festive vibe that a birthday scene should have, making it seem a bit emotionally distant.
So I’m also considering preparing a relatively neat version later. This neat version will likely be closer to the authentic birthday atmosphere, allowing people to truly feel that they are celebrating.

These are the reference materials I’ve prepared—all photos of birthday parties in China during the Y2K era.
I really love this retro vibe, and this atmosphere feels very familiar to me, because it’s exactly how my birthdays were like when I was a kid.

In-class Learning

WEEK3

During the third week of classes, we learned about Sequence in Unreal Engine, mastered the basic operations of creating shots and building shot layers within the Sequence, while also getting to know core basic functions like shot animations and animation curves. We also practiced related operations such as adjusting shot movements and setting camera parameters through hands-on exercises using the built-in scenes in UE.

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Unreal Engine

Week 1 – Week 2: Unreal Engine Project Concept Exploration

Concept

This idea came from a normal, everyday thing — a birthday.

We usually think birthdays are happy and celebratory days. But I started to wonder if they have another side too.

Every birthday seems to tell us, “You’re one year older now.” And because of that, we should be more mature and take more responsibility.

Behind this soft reminder, there is actually a kind of social expectation — an idea of what kind of person we should be.

What I want to say is this feeling: a birthday is not just a time to celebrate. It’s also a time when people expect or ask us to grow up.

This mix of sweetness and pressure, and warmth with a little unease, feels interesting to me. And it’s something I want to show through pictures.

Creative Process

This time, I’m not planning to tell a story through narration or interaction. Instead, I want to create a scene – showcasing video that expresses this tension purely through visual effects.
At first glance, the scene should give people a bright, lovely and celebratory feeling.
But when the audience looks closely, they may find a hint of discomfort from the lighting, the sense of space or the relationship between objects.
Some of these details will include symbolic objects, such as models representing the pressure of buying a house, or trophies and books symbolizing academic competition.
I hope that through these seemingly gentle details, the audience can feel the tension beneath the surface – the kind of sweetness that hides anxiety.
In terms of style, I’m still exploring. It may include elements of a typical Chinese family, or tend more towards a dreamy, surreal look,
so that “celebration” and “pressure” can form a visual contrast.
Overall, I hope this work can guide the audience from the lively, festive surface to reflection, allowing them to experience the subtle tension between growth and social expectations.

In-class Learning
WEEK1

In the first week, we learned some basic knowledge of the UE engine. We also learned how to install the Epic Games Launcher, and how to switch between the university computers and our personal devices. Our teacher recommended that we’d better use the same version of the UE engine as the one on UAL computers, so we should download the same version.

WEEK2

In the second week, we continued to get more familiar with the UE5 engine. We learned many basic functions, such as the viewport, details panel and content browser. We also knew about some key features of UE5, like ray tracing, Lumen and Nanite. After that, we learned how to import assets from Quixel Bridge, some basic operations of the material editor, as well as basic work with levels and sublevels, which can keep our projects tidy.