Unreal Engine was used to scout the environment. Then, we built the set as well as developed materials for the scenic artists.
We built this set originally in Unreal Engine. After it was built digitally, we walked Kevin Fiege and the other Producers in VR, through the set before it was built.
Neon Street is an environment in Unreal Engine that I modified. I experimented with decals and niaga elemental systems. I also used photoshop to create unique and specialized graphic projections.
Snowy Cabin is an environment in Unreal Engine that I built by hand sculpting the landscape. I utilized megascan and 3D assets as well as weather systems.
Building the cave environment in Unreal Engine was a fun and creative process. I started with some concept art of a fantasy underground waterfall. I blocked out the basic shape of the cave using megascan rock walls. Then incorporated some blocks that I sculpted to fill in the voids. Next, I added the water, and plants and added some effects and animations to the cave to make it more dynamic and immersive. Finally, using the sequencer I gave the camera some movement to float into the cave.
While working on Jumanji The Next Level we built these interesting Huts for a cut scene in the movie. I wasn’t using Unreal at that time so I decided to recreate the huts and environment. I had a base model from the set designer but rebuilt most of it in Rhino 3d to optimize it before bringing it into Unreal. Using decals to apply painted graphics to the structure brought the model to life. In the movie, we set the huts on Fire for the scene. I experimented with lighting the model on fire as well. With just a couple of assets from my FX library, I was able to add fire elements to set the hut ablaze.
This project was started one night while playing with the water plug-in and blueprint brush in the Landscape mode in Unreal. It started as some trial and error but morphed into a beautiful coastline. Once you get started with one element is hard not to continue adding assets like palm trees and coastal rocks from my library and megascans. Then I made a 3-material blend material so I could paint in sand along the water edge then jungle grass and ground cover and a rocky surface as I moved up into the mountains. The surface material is great to base out the different areas of the landmass and then dress 3d assets over the top to add natural character.