This is Getting GOOD! AI Art to AI 3D Model - Unreal Engine UE5 Game Development

In today’s article, we're diving into a workflow that seamlessly transforms AI-generated concept art into an impressive AI-generated 3D model, rigged up with a procedural walk, and imported into Unreal Engine for live real-time gameplay. Let’s walk through the entire pipeline and understand how this process unfolds.

Step 1: Image Generation with Leonardo AI

The first part of our pipeline involves Leonardo AI for image generation. Leonardo AI stands out due to its real-time generation feature, allowing you to type in prompts and quickly receive artistic outputs. For instance, by typing in “robotic dog,” you can get a variety of robotic dogs in different art styles. Adjusting sliders helps maintain a consistent art style across different characters, which is crucial for cohesive project design.

If you're working on a project needing multiple characters in the same art style, it's beneficial to keep track of your seed information and slider settings. This ensures you can maintain consistency while modifying character prompts slightly to create variations.

Step 2: Converting Illustrations to 3D Models with Hyper Humans Roden

Next, we convert our AI-generated illustrations into 3D models using Hyper Humans Roden. This platform excels in generating smooth and well-defined polygonal models. First, I upload a reference image from Leonardo AI and use it to prompt Hyper Humans Roden to generate a 3D preview. Adjusting prompts and providing correctional input can help refine the model further, such as ensuring proper shape and geometry.

For instance, while working with a kitty model, specifying the tail details in the prompt helps in achieving the correct structure. You can further tweak the model by specifying additional geometric properties.

Step 3: Generating Textures and Confirming the Model

Once satisfied with the model’s geometry, the next step involves generating textures. By cranking up the reference strength, the texture generation closely matches the original image. After confirming the textures and model quality, download the 4K texture in FBX format, suitable for Unreal Engine.

Step 4: Importing into Unreal Engine

Back in Unreal Engine, import the FBX model and textures. Create a new material and assign the correct textures to base color, metallic, normal, and roughness nodes. Upon applying these textures to the model, you’ll have your fully textured AI-generated character ready for Unreal Engine gameplay.

Finally, place the model into the game environment to inspect it in action. The quality and consistency of these AI-generated models are impressive, offering a streamlined approach for creating game-ready assets.

Advanced Techniques: Rigging and Procedural Animation

For those interested in further enhancing the model, rigging it with a procedural walk cycle can bring your AI-generated character to life. This involves adding bone and skeletal structures to the static mesh. Future tutorials might cover these advanced steps in greater detail.

Keywords

AI image generation
Leonardo AI
Hyper Humans Roden
3D model generation
Unreal Engine UE5
Procedural animation
Game development

FAQ

Q1: What is the purpose of Leonardo AI in this workflow?

Answer: Leonardo AI is used for real-time image generation based on textual prompts, allowing for quick creation of concept art in various styles.

Q2: How does Hyper Humans Roden contribute to the pipeline?

Answer: Hyper Humans Roden converts AI-generated illustrations into detailed 3D models while ensuring smooth polygonal geometry and accurate texture mapping.

Q3: What are the key steps in importing models into Unreal Engine?

Answer: The FBX model and textures are imported into Unreal Engine, followed by creating a new material and assigning the appropriate textures (base color, metallic, normal, and roughness).

Q4: Can these AI-generated models be animated in Unreal Engine?

Answer: Yes, these models can be rigged and animated, including procedural animations, by adding bone and skeletal structures.

Q5: How long does the texture and model generation process take?

Answer: Each texture and model generation step typically takes around 30 seconds, making it a quick and efficient process.

By following this step-by-step guide, game developers and designers can leverage AI tools to quickly create and implement high-quality 3D models, streamlining the process of game asset creation.