DRAGON
ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS DRAGON DAY 2019 Head of design and Construction Member of leadership team that designed and constructed 70-foot mobilized articulating dragon “Every year in March, in a tradition that goes back more than 100 years, an enormous dragon created by first-year architecture students parades across campus. Accompanied by AAP students in outrageous costumes, the dragon lumbers to the Arts Quad where it does battle with a phoenix created by rival engineering students. This rite of spring is one of Cornell’s best-known traditions.” – link GALLERY FULL PARADE
Balance
DESIGN PROJECTS BALANCE Playful conglomerate of welded car parts GALLERY
81%
DESIGN PROJECTS 81% Steel framed concrete sculpture GALLERY
Blender-Omniverse Extension
DESIGN PROJECTS BLENDER-OMNIVERSE EXTENSION Official Nvidia-Blender Extension: find it here The Blender Omniverse Extension is a Blender plugin designed to allow for seamless transfer/conversion of object and scene data from Blender native formats to those supported by the USD (Universal Scene Description) file format. This includes: mesh/particle system/material reformatting, texture baking, animation baking, scene optimization, and much more. ROLE: OMNIVERSE EXTENSION ENGINEER AND USER INTERFACE DESIGNER Developed software for remote automated optimization of high poly meshes ⋅ Proposed and integrated features for Blender-Omniverse Extension ⋅ Created Blender-Omniverse plug-in for user interface of developed features ⋅ Collaborated with multiple international teams to successfully bridge mutual Interests ⋅ Utilized Git for version control, code reviews, and joint project development FULL EXTENSION OMNIVERSE PANEL SCENE OPTIMIZER
TEXTURaiZER
DESIGN PROJECTS TEXTURaiZER Prototype UI for AI based design plugin for Rhino 3D Current means of texturing digital objects are either heavily time consuming or limit creativity. Selecting from pre-installed libraries to auto-wrap textures produces results that are boring, out of scale, and out of touch with the architecture being designed. This inadequacy of our tools impedes creativity, eventually leading to artificial limitations in our thinking and designs. In the same way that many architects have shifted to designing within Rhino rather than Revit, we must not restrict our design thinking due to the tools that are available, nor the way things “ought to be built”. By developing tools that respond to the architect’s way of thinking, new means of design logic can be captured. USER INTERFACE Designers convey early concepts through words and drawings. An effective design tool should have the same expressiveness. User input must be expanded in order to capture the way we think. Speech is an integral component of human communication. By utilizing text as a means of input, design intent can more freely and accurately be expressed. Sketching is another powerful method of capturing thought. Interpreting simple sketches to produce presentable outputs can fundamentally change the way architects approach façade design. APPLICATION Here, a series of consecutive steps are taken to rapidly arrive at a final rendered image in a controlled manner. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. 3D painted pattern on building 2. Ai-Interpolated pattern completion 3. Use generated pattern as input mask for generated materials 4. Simple painted Environment around building 5. Ai generated environment based on input sketch and prompt 6. 2D cutout trees placed in scene 7. Ai generated trees based on input collage 8. Final ai render pass
PIVOT
DESIGN PROJECTS PIVOT DESIGN LEAD OF 8 MEMBER TEAM: Awarded most Innovative game design After a hyper-dimensional cataclysm occurs in an underground lab, the once 3D world can only be perceived in two dimensions. Help Dr. Axel Turner pivot his way through a cross-dimensional maze one slice at a time to restore depth to the world. PIVOT is a spatially-challenging puzzle adventure game with a unique player-centric, fully-dynamic 2D view in a 3D world. https://www.lukekratsios.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RPReplay_Final1701103212.mp4 Mobile Puzzle Exploration Game PROJECT ROLE: DESIGN LEAD Responsibilities: Build all 3D assets (character, collectibles, environment, stages) Produce character animations Produce procedural generated environment assets Co-develop custom mesh exporter for generating project files directly from Blender Create 3D to 2D sprites Develop visual theme and ensure visual consistency between UI/assets/rendering Develop UI/UX Aid in building C++/OpenGL shaders and other render effects Integrate character animations in C++ Build out comprehensive story vision HYPERCUBE STUDIOS CZAR CARSON – SARAH FLEISCHMAN LUKE KRATSIOS – JACK OTTO JOHN LO – JOLENE MEI MATTHEW QUINN – GORDI TENEV The challenge of conceptualizing the 3D space, without ever having a holistic view, offers a fresh challenge for puzzle lovers. Experience the thrill of rotating the abandoned world around you, making you feel like the center of the universe. With each turn, collect key items and drop glow sticks to navigate through each complex map. The engaging gameplay will keep you immersed in this exciting adventure. You won’t be able to TURN away. MULTI PASS 3D-RENDERED SPRITES COLORNORMAL COLORNORMAL Utilizing a multi pass approach, paired sets of sprite sheets are created from a 3D model and animation. These sets are then combined in game to create a 3D rendering effect that is without the need for a spending compute power on a high polycount mesh. With the normal map, the sprite can fully react to 3D environment lighting. This effect is used for both character animations as well as collectible objects. GALLERY
FROZEN IN TIME
PHOTOGRAPHY FROZEN IN TIME In cities, some individuals have a permanence that distinguishes them from the transient crowds. They create personal spaces in public areas as they engage in repetitive tasks and interactions. This series across Italy captures these individuals and the fast paced world around them.
PARALLEL DIMENSIONS
RENDERING PROJECTS PARALLEL DIMENSIONS Finalist in a global 3D render competition with hundreds of entries https://www.lukekratsios.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG-5112.mp4
ALTERNATE REALITIES
RENDERING PROJECTS NOMAD Entry in Alternate Realities global 3D render competition with over 2000 entries. Includes original character design, character modeling, rigging, animation, environment design, hard surface modeling, lighting, texturing, and rendering. https://www.lukekratsios.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_6139.mp4
CORNELL HOCKEY
RENDERING DESIGN CORNELL HOCKEY OFFICIAL GRAPHICS Official graphic designer for the Cornell Big Red Men’s Club Hockey Team. Including a revamped logo, jerseys, social media posts, and photoshoots GALLERY