12.00 Introduction

Overview

Next week, we will be using the virtual production LED volume to bring your 3D creations to life. Your goal for this week is to design basic environments, like small rooms or little villages—and animated characters in Maya or Blender, and then successfully export these assets as USD and FBX files for later transfer into Unreal Engine. The focus is on properly scaling your models, keep materials beginner-friendly, and use a standard format called USD (Universal Scene Description) to easily drop your scenes directly into the virtual world without breaking them.

Learning Objectives

• Scale basic 3D models in Maya and Blender so they appear at the correct, lifelike size when brought into Unreal Engine.
• Identify when to use the USD file format, best for full environments, versus the FBX format, best for animated characters.
• Export a basic 3D room or village from Maya or Blender using the Universal Scene Description (USD) format.
• Apply simple, image-based textures to models to ensure that colors and materials transfer successfully between programs.
• Export a 3D character with a simple, baked animation so that it loops automatically once placed in the engine.
• Import and preview USD environments and animated characters inside the Unreal Engine interface to check for errors.
• Organize 3D files, exports, and texture images into a clean, shared folder for a smooth handoff to the virtual production stage.

Key Terms

• Universal Scene Description (USD)
• FBX
• Unit Scale
• Baked Animation
• Image Textures
• USD Stage
• Skeletal Mesh