Unity for Architectural Visualization

Stefan Boeykens

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781783559060
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Computer Science

In Detail

Architects have always relied on drawings, renderings, and sometimes even movies to present their design concepts to clients, contractors, and other stakeholders. The accessibility of current game engines provides new and exciting possibilities to turn any design into an interactive model that anyone can experience at their own pace.

"Unity for Architectural Visualization" explains how you can create compelling, real-time models from your 3D architectural project. Filled with practical tips and in-depth information, this book explains every step in the process, starting from the very basics up to custom scripts that will get you up to the next level.

This book begins with a general overview of the Unity workflow for architectural models. You will start with a simple project that lets you walk around in your design using basic Unity tools and methods. You will then learn how to easily get convincing lightning effects on your scene. You will then set up a basic navigation system in your project, and not only this; you will also cover some tips and tricks to take navigation to the next level. You will quickly learn how to fine-tune the shaders and how to set up materials that are a bit more advanced. Even when you finish Unity for Architectural Visualization, this book will make scripting easier with reusable examples of scripts that can be applied in most projects. After reading this book, you will be comfortable enough to tackle new projects and develop your own.

Approach

A tutorial packed with practical examples and screenshots to help you become an expert in architectural visualization using Unity.

Who this book is for

This book is written for students and professional architects who know how to model buildings in 3D and have a need to turn their design into an interactive model, even if you have never used Unity before. Experience with visualization and programming will be helpful, but is not required to follow along. You will learn all the basics throughout with the help of step-by-step examples. The majority of the examples work fine in any recent version of the Unity software, on Windows or Mac, but occasionally features of the Pro version are required.

Unity for Architectural Visualization

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Table of Contents

Unity for Architectural Visualization

Credits

About the Author

Acknowledgement

About the Reviewers

www.PacktPub.com

Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more

Why Subscribe?

Free Access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. An Integrated Unity Workflow

Assets and the Unity workflow

CAD or 3D modeling software

Passing through intermediate software

Expected pitfalls

Missing back-faces

Missing texture coordinates

Superfluous geometry

Lack of instances

Building Information Modeling (BIM) Software

Example workflow scenario

Considerations when using BIM software

What about dedicated real-time solutions for CAD/BIM?

Updating the scene when changes occur

Optimally supported workflows

Summary

2. Quick Walk Around Your Design

Setting up an (almost) empty Unity project

Loading up a CAD model

Can you show me, please?

Controlling the import settings

Meshes and materials, or Shaders

Adding sun light

Adding navigation using a first person controller

Minding the gap

Summary

3. Let There be Light!

Basic light sources

Shadows

Real-time shadows

Sun study animation

Faking shadows

Lightmapping

Other lighting techniques

Browsing the Asset Store

Lightmapping packages in the Asset Store

Pre-rendered models

Summary

4. Promenade Architecturale

First Person versus Third Person Controller

Setting up the First Person Controller

Setting up the Third Person Controller

Choosing between FPC and TPC?

Further tweaking and refining the character controllers

Loading a custom third person character

Using a custom static model

Loading a new character from the Asset Store

Using Mixamo characters and animations

Adding a live minimap

Switching between cameras?

Setting up a turntable camera animation

Displaying basic text/information on the screen

Summary

5. Models and Environment

Loading 3D Warehouse models

Setting up a basic landscape

Customizing trees with Tree Creator

Creating a custom Skybox

Optimizing scenes and models

Showing only what is needed

Grouping objects by material

Using Prefabs (instancing)

Using Levels of Detail (LOD)

Culling and Batching

Combining Meshes/Children

Combining materials (texture atlas)

Avoiding excessive collision geometry

Summary

6. Shaders and Textures

Adjusting basic textured materials

Creating convincing glass

Using advanced textured materials

Using procedural materials

Allegorithmic substances

Learning further material techniques

Adjusting texture mapping

Applying animated textures

Summary

7. Full Control with Scripting

Scripting crash course

Triggering doors and elevators

Using triggers and colliders

Refining the opening animation

Moving platforms

Solving a problem with parenting

Rework the script using an animation clip

Basic heads-up-display with a custom GUI

Toggling lights and other objects

Switching between cameras

Switching between materials

Further interactions

Resetting the player

Loading another level

Some additional Asset Store tips

Summary

Index

Unity for Architectural Visualization

Copyright © 2013 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: September 2013

Production Reference: 1190913

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

35 Livery Street

Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78355-906-0

www.packtpub.com

Cover Image by Mrunal Gawade (<[email protected]>)

Credits

Author

Stefan Boeykens

Reviewers

Dr. Pieter Jorissen

Dr. Sebastian T. Koenig

Acquisition Editors

Anthony Albuquerque

Kunal Parikh

Lead Technical Editor

Meeta Rajani

Technical Editors

Chandni Maishery

Krishnaveni Nair

Aman Preet Singh

Project Coordinator

Akash Poojary

Proofreaders

Lawrence A. Herman

Lindsey Thomas

Indexer

Mariammal Chettiyar

Production Coordinator

Prachali Bhiwandkar

Cover Work

Prachali Bhiwandkar

About the Author

Stefan Boeykens is an architect-engineer from Leuven, Belgium. After graduation, he was involved in architectural practice for about 4 years, before returning in 2007 to KU Leuven for his PhD on the integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the design process. He worked on a variety of research and education projects, ranging from CAD and BIM, to metadata for architectural archives and cost simulations. His main research interests are BIM 3D modeling, and visualization, digital historical reconstruction, parametric design, programming, and interoperability between a variety of software tools, with a special focus on open BIM.

He is quite literate with software in general, with extensive expertise on ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Excel, Solibri, Processing, CINEMA 4D, Ableton Live, Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Artlantis, and Unity. He likes cross-platform approaches, even more since switching to OS X. Hard disks are always too small for him.

Stefan Boeykens is currently employed by the Department of Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at KU Leuven, Belgium. As a teacher, he is responsible for the Architectural...

Table of contents

• Unity for Architectural Visualization