Hello everyone, I’m a long time Source Engine mapper, and I’ve recently taken the plunge to UDK and I can honestly say I love it so far. I have for a long time wished for my girlfriend and I to collaborate on a project, however she doesn’t take much interest in video games. As I am learning UDK, I wonder how someone like an oil painter can apply themselves.
I’m looking for suggestions on how I can utilize the skill my girlfriend has, and transfer it to another medium like UDK and do it in a way that inspires her to learn UDK and to make environments.
I thought maybe something easy to do would be to make a gallery environment, and to convert her oil paintings to materials and to have a cool environment to explore with wild architecture. I think this idea is cool, but I’m not sure it will inspire her to learn UDK.
If anyone has any experience introducing people to UDK with no prior background please do share. Any suggestions appreciated.
Here is a link to her new blog that shows nothing but her work, as you can see she is into both photorealism and abstract.
Glad to see that you are taking the plunge into using Unreal. I just wanted to check with you and see if you really meant UDK or you meant UE4. These forums are used for UE4 Discussion and Content. If you are using UDK, I would recommend that you posted in the UDK forums, as it would provide a better response then you would gather here. Here is a link to those forums: https://forums.epicgames/forums/366-UDK. If not, then I would be sure to use UE4 as the title so that there will be no confusion in the future.
Well, just let me start by saying, I’m just a old guy trying to learn all this game making stuff for the first time. That being said and not being an art expert: Wow. Your girlfriend is extremely talented. The portraits are really something. Not just the mastery of composition but the attitude, the thought that comes out of their eyes. It’s striking. How do you get her to become interested in putting her talent into video games? I don’t know. Painting is such a visceral thing; The smell of the paint, the feel of the brush, joy of filling a canvas. . . I get that. Game making can be so abstract, but I imagine that it can also have it’s own beguiling joys. There are some beautiful, stunning games out there with their own incredible art; some simple, like “Limbo”, or visually intricate, like “Bioshock”. Look around with her, on the internet, at what is possible. Maybe something will strike her. Your idea, about a ‘gallery environment’, is a good one. Yes, give that a try. But, I think in the end, you can put things in front of people, and say, “What about this? Isn’t this cool. Do you want to do this?” and they may try it but it may not be their passion. You said, above, that you want to “inspire her to learn UDK (UE4?) and make environments”, I think if she sees your own interest and curiosity and passion for making stuff that it may rub off. And dude, It’s so awesome you want to work with her. I hope it works out. Good Luck!
I would recommend you to get her playing multiplayer games, because in my opinion those games are the best way to have fun with a game -> in those games you are together with friends. I have realised the same with some people that I know. They were absolutely not interested in games, but after two rounds of battlefield 3 in the multiplayer mode with a team of friends they changed their opinion.
Now to the UE4/game development part. In my opinion it is like that: After somebody has played some games, nearly everybody also wants to create his own one! When that is not the case, it will be hard to get her developing games ^^
Another way is to just let her try out some stuff and probably during that time she will realise that game development is really awesome -> especially the part were you notice that you have created something new by your own.
When she is interested I would just show her all the ways how she could participate in the project -> e.g concept artist
That’s cool, I’m working on something similar, a virtual museum for some of my artwork. I hope this doesn’t sound conceited but I’m lucky in that I started off from a more traditional artistic background and moved towards 3d rendering/interactivity. So having been in both ponds so to speak, I have a feeling you might have trouble convincing her to learn UE4, or to be more blunt, you might get her to try and when the billions of new things she has to learn overwhelms her she might not be so happy with you There’s just such a huge difference between the process of putting something onto canvas and putting something into a game engine.
I could easily be wrong though. I think the suggestion of her creating concept art and you building environments from there might be the best way to go about it. Also maybe introduce her to Zbrush/3dcoat or any other sculpting program if she has any inclination for 3d art. Good luck.
There’s just such a huge difference between the process of putting something onto canvas and putting something into a game engine.