Design Final Major Project (DM3103)
Roman Fort Diorama
Project Synopsis
The final major project will aim to bring Roman history to life through a Diorama, set within a Roman fort. The project will consist of both world-building and 3d modelling. Throughout my time at University, I have typically left my 3d assets with substance and never brought them into the engine. This is why I have decided to create Diorama. My hope for this project is to expand my current skill set in modelling while also gaining fresh approaches to game engine development. The project will consist of the following tasks: sketching and blockouts, modelling development, textured final renders and finally world building. The end product will consist of high-resolution screenshots that offer different perspectives through the models and the environment.
I will create 3 models for this project, one hero asset and two secondary assets that will act as supporting models to add some depth to the scene. The hero asset will be the Roman fort itself, and the secondary assets will be a farmhouse and stables. I will be downloading other assets like foliage, and they will be referenced and credited. All references will be added at the end. If I add references images
Project Schedule
My Trello board outlines when I plan to begin each stage of the project to help me keep a clear and concise plan, which will allow me to keep track of my progress. The first step to make the Trello board was to understand what tasks would be needed while also thinking about how much time would be required for each task. The sketching and blockout stages would be relatively straightforward, as I knew once I identified the right reference images that I felt suited my vision, I could begin sketching through Figma. The Modelling development section is where I expect more time to be used. I mentioned below that the time committed to the project will be determined by the level of detail. The texturing process should only remain one week, as I believe that my sketches will have a clear art direction, which will allow me to begin texturing without having any delays. The game engine work will very likely be two weeks, perhaps more. I made it clear than challenge here would be dealing with UE5 optimisation and other technical issues. If needed, I will either keep a week free to catch up if necessary, or I will simply move to Unity or UE4, which will still allow me to finish of the project.
Digital Sketch (Hero Asset)
The first task was to begin designing my early sketches and outlining my art style. The first task was to choose a reference image that I felt would represent my vision for the project. The reason I opted for this design is simply that it embodies a Roman-style structure, and as a fort, it feels and looks different to a regular medieval fort that is more common in history, and this project would be very different to past historical structures that I have made.
I began with a basic outline of the structure. This was quite a challenge due to the amount of very solid straight lines, and using the mouse became a problem. I quickly found that holding shift while sketching helped keep everything organised and clean.
The annotations I have created outline my design and technical decisions when it comes to my modelling and texturing. The fort path will be developed with the game engine, while the rest of the annotations will be a part of my modelling workflow.
HeritageDaily (2018) 10 Roman forts in Britannia. Available at: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2018/01/10-roman-forts-britannia/117215
(Accessed: 4 December 2025).
Secondary Assets (Farmhouse and Stables)
The final sketch is focused on the secondary assets. The Roman farmhouse and stables will be placed within the inner walls of the castle. The art style for this asset will be focused on different woods designs which will be different from the castle and will offer some realistic depth to my scene.
The reference image was found on a website that focuses on different variants of roman farmhouses. One of the reasons I chose this one specifically is because the model and required textures look relatively easy to model and due to the workload and project scale I feel more this would allow me to spend more time on new skills like world building.
The sketching progress began by creating a thicker line to gain outline of the model. This made it easier to avoid drawing outside and making the image look less messy and in consistent. The biggest challenge I found within this task was keeping the lines straight, which like the fort, became slightly harder however I was able to fix and overcome this by simply holding shift which did allow me to fix and overcome any in even parts.
Exploring Building History (2022) ‘Villa Ventorum at The Newt – A Roman estate reimagined (Part 1): Looking at the exterior’, Exploring Building History, 7 August. Available at: https://www.exploringbuildinghistory.co.uk/villa-ventorum-at-the-newt-a-roman-estate-reimagined-part-1-looking-at-the-exterior/
(Accessed: 4 December 2025).
Top Down Map (Blockout)
The pre-production consists of a digital top-down map and a technical interpretation. The benefit of creating both is to gain digital annotations while also giving a technical viewpoint from which the model will be created. The structure I decided on was having two main gate entrances that act as a typical pathway to enter the fortification. A Roman fortress would typically have multiple entrances, depending on its size and position. (Historic England, 2018). The Sketch also includes the two secondary assets, which will be the main assets within the fort, but I may change where they are placed, as I may reuse these assets to add more depth to the diorama.
Every event we host is designed with intention, from the atmosphere we create to the way each session flows.
Roman Towers Stage 01
The first step in creating the towers was to focus on the scale and measurements. This will allow me to focus on consistency and reusability, which are key concepts of the project that match the walls and towers, so the assets look and feel equal. The main task here was to build the tower’s roof. I added in 1 swift loop to create a suitable edge, and then extruded the edge upwards. The angled edges were created using the bevelled tool. This creates the inverted edges within the inside of the asset for the roof.
Challenges and errors (Problem)
The only issue and error I encountered while modelling the walls and towers for the castle, the process was simply creating a cube that fitted cleanly between the towers and main gate. I repeated the process for creating the walls; however, once I cloned them, I made the mistake of cloning them as instances and not as copies. This caused the asset to multiply during the attachment process, therefore creating overlapping assets and poor typology. This did happen to the windows, as I did not realise at the time until I cloned each of the assets.
Once the cuts were made, I could begin adding key detail points. The first task involved using a new skill to create a brick asset that could sit on the face to add some visual detail. The process to make the bricks was to select polygonal modelling, then I chose the brick pattern. Once inserted, I could chamfer the edges and extrude the cubes out, which created the brick detail. The other method, which I typically have used, was to add swift loops across the face and extrude each of the created polys. The challenges with using this method are that you never see clear gaps between the bricks. I believe the polygonal modelling method works for this specific task. The archway and windows were added after the bricks had been created in order to manage typology and to avoid overlapping layers.
Roman Towers Stage 02
The process for adding detail involved adding the arched windows and the bricks to the towers, the only difference being the addition of new polygonal modelling. The bricks were made again to fit the specific shapes and dimensions, which, compared to the walls and main gate was very different. Once one of the towers was completed, I could clone it and quickly place it in the specific locations.
Challenges and errors (Fixed)
The method I used to fix this was to select the element tab from within the assets properties panel, and this allowed me to select the specific asset, and then I could delete the asset that was causing the overlapped asset. Had I not fixed this, the texturing process would have encountered inconsistent layers and would have the work look lower quality. This fix demonstrated my ability to fix mistakes and maintain the project’s timescale
Roman Fort (Modelling Stage 01)
Roman gate (Stage 01)
The first stage of developing the main gates was to add a cube and begin by scaling it to a realistic height and width. To make it accurate and realistic, I brought in a cube to act as the tower, which allowed me to make a judgment of the size of the assets. The second objective was to create cuts into the wall that could be suitable for archway structures. One issue I encountered was that the pro-Boolean tool created an inaccurate cut using the archway, which led me to a basic insert using a cube. This method created equal cuts, and while it was not the specific arch insert, I was still able to utilise a archway shape to create the detailed viewpoint through the fort.