UNREAL ENGINE 5 | FUSION 360
Sci-fi enthusiast Anton Podvalny creates beautiful 3D artwork using Unreal Engine’s powerful tools
Just two programs were needed to make my battery artwork: the CAD software Fusion 360 and Unreal Engine 5. For this tutorial, I’ll give you a brief overview of how I created all the models for my scene using Fusion 360, but the real highlight is the process I followed in Unreal Engine, which is where much of the important work happens.
We’ll begin by importing all of our assets into Unreal Engine and constructing a basic scene that will be comfortable to work with. After that, we’ll continue with creating all the necessary materials for our models.
The next steps will be the most important for the render itself, as we’ll be setting up our camera and bringing lighting into the scene. We’ll also add a little polish on top in the form of a few of the post-processing features that Unreal Engine offers. And to finish up the project, I’ll show you how to perfectly prepare the image for rendering.
01 DESIGN IN FUSION 360
Let’s start by creating basic shapes for our hero object, the battery itself. Try to keep it simple, as complex shapes will make the design less believable in terms of functionality. After that, add a bunch of small details here and there, especially on top because it will be the focal point in our scene. The last step here will be creating the background that, considering it will be out of focus, can just be something relatively trivial.
Be prepared
It’s always important to set the rendering method from the beginning. The results will be different, especially when using Path Tracer. Given that using it while working with your scene in real-time isn’t particularly comfortable, you can instead set RT Reflections, with multiple bounces, and RT Shadows for your light to get a closer representation of Path Tracer. Don’t forget to periodically switch to Path Tracer mode to check everything is going to plan.
02 IMPORT IN UNREAL
Now we can import all our models into Unreal Engine. First we need to export them from Fusion 360 in a suitable file format, in this case STEP. We then want to add models to the empty Unreal scene by clicking Create>Datasmith>File Import, making sure that you have the Datasmith enabled in your plugins. Select the optimal import settings, which can be changed later on for any object by going to Datasmith>Retesselate from the Context menu. Now all your geometry is ready to work with.
03 PREPARE BASIC SCENE
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