Modular Dojo Kit for Gaming or Animation Environment (Interior Only)
I was recently watching the Anime series Jujutsu Kaisen and one of the scenes in the animation inspired me to create a new modular kit for Unreal Engine (although it can be used in any 3D game engine or modelling program). These specific modular parts I created in Blender and then set up and rendered these images in Unreal Engine.
Process:
Prep Work and Blocking Out:
1. I’ve created many modular parts before so I have a fairly dependable process I go through, that is fairly common for these types of 3D assets.
2. I begin by collecting many reference images and I usually put these together in a program called PureRef. Although! In this case I had one specific reference image that I used for the creation of the scene and the assets.
3. I also did some research into Dojos and the materials that are used to make them. It was a little strange, as this information was not that easy to find. There’s lot of photos and articles about Dojo’s but not much about the actual materials. Eventually I found enough information that was required. I did also discover the term Shoji that describes a door, window or room divider that is usually a wooden frame covered with a thin translucent or paper like material. For the full list of commonly used Dojo materials please see the information at the bottom of this portfolio post.
4. I really like to list out the modular parts and also materials that I am going to use. I have in the past not listed materials, although I have had an idea in my mind. I have at times found it a little stressful without a clear guide to what I am working with. Not to say this is a constraint, but it does provide a good vision.
Modelling:
1. I have a starting reference scale for walls that is either 3X3M or 3x4M. This provides a good height and width for a video game environment. The dimensions don’t have to stay excatly to these sizes, but this is a good starting point. I have also used 3x2M as well, but a wall of 2.5 metres height whilst in reality is more common, in a video game it can be a little low and feel a little claustrophobic for the player and environment.
2. I make sure I have snap to grid on whilst modelling. This enables precise control of the placement of objects and also using the grid makes it easy to snap the different parts together.
3. The modelling process was fairly quick and the only fidlly part was making sure the walls, ceilings and edges lined up, especially the wooden frames that were part of the walls. I did have to go back into Blender a couple of times and fix up some of the alignment issues after I had imported the pieces into Unreal Engine.
4. It it important to set the object origin point to a a side edge or point where you know you will be snapping the object to another object.
UV Unwrapping:
1. I used tiled textures and materials for this work, so the UV unwrapping process was fairly straight-forwward and I tiled the UVs outside of the 0 to 1 space. Which is completely usable for tiled materials and does save a lot of time in the UV unwrapping process. Using tiled materials also makes it easy to optimise, reduce or even increase texture resolution, swap out materials or textures and are generally easy to update.
2. Blender does have a buuilt in Texel Density measurement function, which is one thing it could do it. There is a great add on though which I regualry use with UV unwrapping. Even if not using for a specific texel density, if nothing else it’s really quick and easy to make sure the different parts have the same UV texel density.
3. Paper or plaster — Giving consideration to performance I used a opaque texture for the walls instead of a paper translucent material. Although as its tiled materials it is very esay to swap out with a paper texture if required for more realism or just the look and feel.
Set Up and Adding Detail:
1. Once Imported in Unreal I can drag an initial peice into the scene and then use the snapping options along with holding down V that snaps origin points to vertexs. Hence why the point above is important.
2. I did place some decals and looked at adding some dirt and other details, in this case they didn’t add anything to the scene. And as the Dojo is meant to be clean and tidy it felt better to leave any dirt or scruffs out of the scene.
Overall:
1. Overall this scene took about 1 day and a quarter, and I was happy with the final result.
This is not an exact replica, but is a close comparision. The ceiling parts has not holes cut out for the light fixings and this does allow for flexible in moving the light fixings around.
Further Info – Real Life Dojo Construction Materials:
1. Wood:
- Structure: The framework and floors were typically made from strong, high-quality wood such as cedar (sugi), pine (matsu), or cypress (hinoki). These woods were chosen for their durability and aesthetic appeal.
- Flooring: Floors were often made of polished wood to allow for smooth movement, particularly in arts like Aikido or Karate. In some cases, they would use raised floors to prevent moisture damage.
2. Tatami Mats:
- Many dojos, especially those used for arts like Judo or Jiu-Jitsu, were equipped with tatami mats made of woven straw and rice straw cores. Tatami provided a soft surface to prevent injury during falls or throws.
3. Paper and Wood Sliding Doors (Shoji):
- Dojos often had shoji doors, which are sliding doors made from wooden frames with translucent paper. These created a serene and natural atmosphere, allowing for soft, diffused light to enter.
4. Earthen Walls:
- The walls were traditionally made using a combination of wood and plaster or earth (called tsuchikabe), which helped regulate temperature and gave the space a natural, grounded feel.
5. Simple, Unadorned Design:
- The design of traditional dojos tended to be minimalistic, reflecting the Zen Buddhist principles of simplicity and focus. Decorations were limited, often to items like a shrine (kamiza) or a calligraphy scroll that conveyed the spirit of the martial art.
6. Roofing:
- The roof was typically constructed from ceramic tiles or wooden shingles, designed to last a long time and withstand the elements.
Overall, traditional dojos were designed to foster discipline, respect, and a connection to nature, making the environment conducive to serious martial arts training and spiritual development.