Once I had chosen the type of personal project I wanted to pursue, I began planning the scene in Unreal Engine. To ensure that I didn’t encounter any copyright issues, I decided to primarily use assets from Megascans and only supplement with smaller assets from Polyhaven if necessary. Although there are other asset resources available, I wanted to make sure I used them appropriately.
Unlimited Megascans access for use with Unreal Engine. If you have a Content License, simply sign in with your Epic Games account to get unlimited access to the Megascans library through Bridge.
Quixel (2023)
As this is a Lighting Study, I plan to examine various types of lighting in different settings. For a while, I was undecided on which concept to choose from the numerous options available in Megascans.
Concepts:
- A Roman temple that features a portal in the north surrounded by lush vegetation.
- The rich manor with indoor shots and sculptures.
- Medieval village with the magical portal.
- Forest scene.
I was having a hard time deciding which theme to choose, so I created a few different moodboards.
Ultimately, I settled on a mansion with a Roman garden, as I want to showcase various types of lighting – both inside and outside – as well as different textures and foliage. This will allow me to incorporate more assets and make it more memorable than a typical village or temple. It also helps to view the two backgrounds (outside/inside) together as a cohesive project. I will begin by focusing on the garden scene first and then move on to the interior. I am particularly interested in using plants as they can enhance cinematic lighting effects. Furthermore, I drew inspiration from the concept art of The Last of Us and Dishonored 2.
In my opinion, a strong portfolio piece should feature a well-developed concept that incorporates thoughtful and purposeful use of assets, colours, and lighting. While I don’t have time to create storyboards or concepts for this project, putting together moodboards will help me stay on theme and create a cohesive, immersive environment. I loosely based the plot on the Garden of Eden, which helped me choose models and play with the vision of a garden/plain in an outdoor setting. The deteriorating mansion represents sin and the fall of humanity, while the magical garden symbolizes Eden and a state of innocence and bliss, as well as temptation.
The term Eden probably is derived from the Akkadian word edinu, borrowed from the Sumerian eden, meaning “plain.”
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2023) Garden of Eden.
In addition, I have been researching cinematic lighting and exploring Unreal Engine 5 tutorials. Although I am uncertain which tutorial will be most useful, I am creating a library of sources that could help me solve issues or add visual effects later on in the project. I plan to follow the Ninety Days in Unreal Engine 5 examples, which were designed to be built quickly using Megascans. Additionally, they provide insight into making the scene look more unique with shaders, textures, and asset manipulation in UE5.
The Ninety Days project kicked off with just three core artists and a simple concept: make something beautiful and inspiring, keep it real-time, and if possible, build each environment in just three days.
Quixel (2022) Ninety Days in Unreal Engine 5.
References
Visual References:
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2023) Garden of Eden. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Garden-of-Eden (Accessed: 9 May 2023).
Quixel (2022) 2022 End of Year Community Highlights. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcFoCQBtYAI (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Quixel (2022) Ninety Days in Unreal Engine 5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca2ME4Wy0eM (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Lighting Tutorials:
Boundless Entertainment (2022) Unreal Engine for Filmmakers – How to Make your Lighting CINEMATIC. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMCTeoj9YaA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Karim abou shousha(2023) How To Create Light Props in Unreal Engine5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSe7QHU6QJk (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Shousha, K.A. (2021) UE4: Lighting Setup Tutorial. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/yk5P48 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
tiedtke. (2023) EVERYTHING to know about RENDER LAYERS in Unreal Engine 5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8UFyaqbiGA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Unreal Engine (2021) Lumen in UE5: Let there be light! | Unreal Engine. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc1PPYl2uxA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Virtus Learning Hub (2022) Realistic Lighting in 15 Minutes – Unreal Engine 5 Lumen Tutorial. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfMG746hk3k (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2023) Creating an Arctic Environment in Unreal Engine 5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVwFrmOvXG4 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2021) Demystifying the Skylight [Unreal Engine 4&5]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGoaPyfZlYg (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2021) How To Make Unreal Look More Cinematic. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doUDJFKLyZs (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2020) Improve Your Renders With Unreal Movie Render Queue PART 1 – Goodbye Sequencer?! (4.26). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxvF3zncClA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2022) Lighting a NIGHT-TIME exterior in Unreal. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LfiYtKDsac (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2022) Lighting in Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSbBsXbjxPo (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2021) Lumen Explained – IMPORTANT Tips for UE5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e6oOiKh91U (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2021) Things To Know About LUMEN [Unreal Engine 5]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFKNoeUPQGQ (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Quixel/UE5 Pipeline:
pwnisher (2021) How I get UNREAL ENGINE to look like a movie | FULL BREAKDOWN. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdtTthV_sXI (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Quixel (2021) Part 2. House Creation: Medieval Game Environment in UE4. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQyeh-0AYOg (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Quixel (2021) Part 6. Lighting: Medieval Game Environment in UE4. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRtmxoxtbLA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Quixel (2021) Walkthrough: Medieval Game Environment in UE4. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcFoCQBtYAI (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
UE5/Nuke Pipeline:
ActionVFX (2022) Connecting Your Unreal Engine & NukeX with UnrealReader | Nuke Tutorial. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mZftSWZ3O8 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Foundry (2022) Nuke 14.0 | Work with Unreal Using UnrealReader. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLBp6kee1Qo (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Foundry (2022) Nuke 13.2 | UnrealReader Workflow Enhancements. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWGwuSfF3E0 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2022) Intro to UnrealReader – Nuke 13.2. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZTO4ojzX2g (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Houdini/FX Tutorials:
Alberto Cordero (2020) Retexture Megascans Assets in Substance Painter. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J17EKboY_lI&t=2544s (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
CG Forge (2022) Houdini | Snow and Rain FX | Quick Tip. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_BDCwbo874 (Accessed: 27 April 2023).
Dylan Browne (2022) High Quality Water in Unreal Engine 5 via Alembic Caches | Part One. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayUuApKuaz8 (Accessed: 27 April 2023).
Unreal Han (2023) Creating a photorealistic rain scene in Unreal Engine | lumen tutorial. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTrCevoXqaA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2022) Capturing Lofoten in Unreal Engine 5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifryjffUJT8 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2023) Introducing EasyFog for Unreal Engine 5. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyRksVjviwg (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
William Faucher (2021) Tips for Sky Atmosphere & Fog – Unreal Engine 5 (& UE4). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbxO-Z5rzwk (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Moodboards:
Avero, L. (2021) The Witch’s Mansion. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ELmgV4 (Accessed: 05 May 2023).
Bazyluk, J. (2020) Garden of possessive desires – part 1 – enviro design style guide. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nYxEaE (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Choe, Y. (2021) Gloomy day : UE4 ‘Mansion Hall’ Raytraced Relight. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/8eaybE (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Cius, R. (2022) Ruins of a Roman Temple UE5 + Megascans. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zOdVv4 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Court, R. (2022) Courtyard UE5. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RnZdwX (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Crafoord, I. (2022) UE5 | Ninety Days | Mansion. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EaJ480 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Jonny (2022) Eden gardens. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xY9w04 (Accessed: 05 May 2023).
Johnson, K. (2020) The Last of Us: Part 2 Santa Barbara Mansion Interior. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kD4B1z (Accessed: 05 May 2023).
Kedige, N. (2022) Hytter House – Weekend Project. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/mDGOYZ (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Kuan Cruz, S. (2019) Abandoned Palace Courtyard. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Jl93dD (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Kuan Cruz, S. (2019) Abandoned Palace Interior. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/0XnZx5 (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Mannerstal, J. (2021) Moving Out The Old Mansion? Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/NxzEPP (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Milivojevic, P. (2022) First Lie, Fruit Of Eden. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/d0oBX1 (Accessed: 05 May 2023).
Norman, J. (2022) Sunken Temple. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/QrlAal (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Oprisan, S. (2021) Abandoned Manor House – Unreal Engine 4. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/g2VqAK (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Panin, S. (2022) Water Temple Scene. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/5XAgrA (Accessed: 26 April 2023).
Sala, F. (2019) EDEN. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/gJG64Q (Accessed: 05 May 2023).
SiewHong, L. (2020) The Last of Us: Part 2 – Santa Barbara Swimming Pool. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nYYrJ6 (Accessed: 05 May 2023).
Tan, A. (2022) Pilgrim’s Temple. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aYwN2k (Accessed: 26 April 2023).