Research Focus

For Voyage, I researched how PBR materials and look development could create a consistent visual world across characters, robots, props and environments. The aim was not only to make each asset visually detailed, but to ensure that all surfaces responded believably under Unreal Engine lighting.

This was important because the film combines stylised sci-fi design with cinematic realism. The girl character, robot companion, pistol, spaceship and alien planet needed to feel part of the same world, even though they used different material types: fabric, painted metal, rubber, glass, emissive screens, plastic panels and worn hard-surface details.

Industry Context

PBR, or Physically Based Rendering, is a material workflow based on how light interacts with surfaces. In Unreal Engine, physically based materials use inputs such as Base Color, Roughness, Metallic, Normal and Ambient Occlusion to produce more consistent results under different lighting conditions.

Adobe’s Substance PBR guide explains that the metal/roughness workflow relies mainly on Base Color, Metallic and Roughness maps, while also using Normal, Ambient Occlusion and Height maps when needed. This helped me understand texturing as a controlled material system rather than only a painting process.

Marmoset’s PBR writing also emphasises consistency as one of the key reasons to use measured material values. This is especially relevant in team-based production, because consistent materials make assets easier to art direct and more predictable in different lighting environments.

Application to My Project

In Voyage, I used PBR research to guide the look development of the main assets.

For the robot, I focused on painted metal, rubber joints, small scratches, edge wear and emissive screen details. The aim was to make the robot feel functional and manufactured, but still cute and approachable.

For the girl character, I used material contrast to separate soft fabric, hard suit panels, helmet glass and technical equipment. This helped the character remain readable in both close-up shots and wider cinematic compositions.

For props such as the sci-fi pistol and robot pendant, I used layered roughness variation, subtle damage and decals to suggest usage and scale. These details helped the props feel integrated into the world rather than appearing as clean isolated models.

Material Decisions

The most important material decision was controlling roughness. I learned that roughness has a major effect on how cinematic a material feels. A surface with no roughness variation can look flat or artificial, even if the base color is detailed.

I also avoided painting strong lighting information directly into the base color. PBR research suggests that Base Color should describe the material’s color, while lighting and shadow should come from the renderer and environment. This helped the assets remain flexible under Unreal Engine lighting. Adobe also notes that data maps such as Roughness, Metallic, Normal, Ambient Occlusion and Height should be treated as linear data rather than regular color textures.

For the final look, I used a stylised-realism approach: the forms and colours are simplified enough to feel designed, but the materials still follow believable physical logic.

Reflection

This research changed how I approached texturing. Before, I mainly thought about whether a texture looked detailed. Through PBR research, I began thinking more about material behaviour: how glossy a surface should be, whether it is metal or non-metal, how it reacts to light, and whether it remains consistent across the film.

The main lesson was that look development is not just surface decoration. It is part of world-building. If the robot, character and props share a consistent material language, the audience is more likely to believe they belong to the same cinematic universe.

For future improvement, I would like to develop a more organised material library for the project, with shared smart materials for painted metal, rubber, fabric, glass and emissive screens. This would make the workflow faster and more consistent for future production.