Review of "Building an Architectural Walkthrough Using Unity[video]

Review of “Building an Architectural Walkthrough Using Unity [video]”

                “Building an Architectural Walkthrough Using Unity [video]” by Stefan Boeykans is an interesting video that is different from the book “Unity for Architectural Visualization” which he also wrote.  I haven’t read the book so I won’t make any further comparisons.  The video is excellent, providing a visual way to understand the directions which are narrated by the author.  The videos can be used by Unity beginner’s, though having a basic understanding of Unity’s interface and set-up will help.

                The videos are broken down into 8 different sections.  The first section covers importing assets into Unity. Examples are given using ArchiCAD and SketchUp.  A model is not provided in the downloaded assets that come with the book.  I would like to have had a 3D model provided so that I could test the import process.  I decided to download a model from 3D Warehouse and import it into Unity. Everything went fine; but it wasn’t perfect.

                The next group of videos covered creating a First and Third Person character that could walk around your model.  The sample assets that Unity provides through the Asset Store were used.  The video also shows how to create a simple minimap.

                Video sections 3 & 4 provide information on using textures and lighting to create the brightest, most appealing model to showcase through Unity.  Section 5 demonstrates how to use animation in Unity.  There are examples of animating an elevator door and rising a platform. There is also an example of completing a Sun Study for your model so that you can see how it will look at all times of the day.

                Sections 6 & 7 demonstrate how to use scripts in Unity.  Examples are provided for rotating an object; changing an object’s material, and changing cameras to display the model at its possible best. Section 6 starts out with a short video explaining how to use scripting in Unity; and then the rest of the video, including section 7, show how to create a user interface.  This will allow you to package your model walkthrough into an app or webpage that anyone can use.

                Finally, section 8 videos explain how to set-up a menu system and walk you through how to build your project into an app usable by anyone no matter what type of computer or mobile device that they have.  Overall this was an interesting set of videos.  Certainly any student studying architecture or anyone working in that field would benefit from watching these videos.  

Here is a link to the book: http://bit.ly/UsIpCQ

                [Additional Note:  I received this set of videos for free so that I could review it.]