LogInAugusto Vaca shared with us how Positano was developed into a stylized pack featuring rich materials and detailed texturing. He explained how to leverage blocking to maintain correct proportions and scale and arrange buildings in a way that makes the city engaging and enjoyable to explore.
Introduction
Hello, everyone! I’m Augusto Vaca, a 22-year-old 3D Environment Artist from Argentina. Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by both architecture and video games, although I never imagined that these two worlds could intersect. Everything changed the day I discovered a video explaining how video game environments are created, and in that moment, everything clicked for me. My mind was blown.
From then on, I knew I wanted to pursue this for life. I began self-teaching, absorbing knowledge from online courses and specialized content, particularly from 80 Level, which became a gateway to the world of environment art, showing me the creative processes of professional developers and how to create impactful artwork.
Over the past seven years, I’ve had the privilege of working on projects like Fata Morgana from Menic Games, Bluefire DLC from Robi Studios, and my favorite so far, Rakugaki from Wabisabi Games. Each project has pushed me to grow and refine my art, moving me further in this career.
Inspiration of Positano
The journey of the Positano Stylized Pack began during a time of uncertainty. My contract with Robi Studios had ended, and I hadn’t updated my portfolio in months. I found myself in a situation where I needed to act quickly to return to the job market, so I decided to create a new portfolio piece as soon as possible. At that moment, my only goal was to achieve a good-looking render or video without worrying about additional angles or thinking of Positano as an asset pack.
However, a few weeks after publishing the project, I landed my current position at Wabisabi. That accomplishment made me feel incredibly grateful and fortunate, so much so that I decided to take the project even further. I wanted to expand it to turn it into a genuine scene that captured the beauty of those unique, winding landscapes of the Amalfi Coast.
However, there were several problems from the start. My first render looked completely flat, so I knew I needed to make significant changes. I had to edit the terrain, reorganize the layout of the houses, and improve proximity to the sea to create a greater sense of immersion in the scene.
It was at that moment that my true motivation was born: to create an asset pack that simplified the work for other developers. I fully understand what it means to spend endless hours bringing a level to life, and my goal is to allow more people to experience the satisfaction of creating something amazing without getting bogged down in technical details. I want this pack to enable developers to create visually impactful scenes in much less time, allowing them to focus on improving the mechanics and narrative of their games.
This blog isn’t just a technical guide; it’s an invitation for other artists to learn from my experience, explore their own creative paths, and see how a project can evolve from a spark of inspiration into a solid, complete piece ready to be integrated into any video game or animation.
Chapter 1: Do we need a plan? Yes, we need it.
This project, which took me two years to complete, was a creative journey that taught me key lessons about turning inspiration into something tangible and professional. Initially, I worked on it in my spare time, making progress slowly and somewhat chaotically. I let myself be guided by what inspired me at the moment, modeling and texturing without a clear plan. While this allowed for experimentation with different techniques and styles, I quickly realized that the lack of direction led to redoing elements and wasting time.
The turning point came when I decided to pause and rethink my approach. I reorganized the workflow, establishing a clear structure for each phase — from model creation to shader work and integration in Unity and Unreal. From that moment on, the development process became much more efficient.
My advice to other artists is simple: take the time to plan at the beginning. A well-structured plan will help you stay focused, optimize your time, and minimize mistakes. Rather than limiting creativity, solid planning provides the freedom to focus on what truly matters.
Chapter 2: References
No project can thrive without a solid set of references. For me, combining real images with concept art from other projects was essential to capturing the essence of the Amalfi Coast. Initially, I worked with realistic proportions and measurements, but as the project progressed, I realized that a stylized approach — with bolder, cleaner forms — was more suited to my vision for the final product. This became the turning point, leading me to shift the artistic direction and reshape the project.
Keeping a steady stream of fresh inspiration was key to maintaining creative momentum, whether through city walks, films, series, Pinterest boards, or even analyzing game environments like those in Overwatch. Organizing these references efficiently was also essential. I used Pinterest to create inspiration boards and PureRef to align key elements, such as buildings, color palettes, and landscapes, with the artistic direction for Positano.
Chapter 3: Modeling & Level Blocking
As I mentioned, I began modeling at a very early stage in the project, which explains the vast number of models I created (and that excludes quite a few). This creative “freedom” allowed me to develop a wide variety of assets, helping the scenes feel diverse and avoiding any sense of repetition. Early on, I faced a lot of trial and error with the modular pieces, as they didn’t always fit together as I had envisioned. To improve my approach, I took a course by Clinton Crumpler on modularity, and I supplemented this with additional resources on YouTube and other research.
Armed with this knowledge, I made the necessary adjustments and moved forward with the blocking process. Given Positano’s unique geography, I encountered a technical challenge: arranging buildings in a stepped layout that could maximize the scenic views and authentically recreate them. To tackle this, I began by creating cubes to outline the basic forms of the diorama, helping me map out a visual path that would be engaging and enjoyable to explore.
Chapter 4: Blueprints Structures from Modules
One of the major strengths of the Positano Stylized Pack is the modularity of its prefabricated structures. From the start, my goal was to create a system that was not only visually appealing but also highly functional, enabling any developer to drag and arrange architectural elements to build their own worlds with a personalized touch, all while preserving Positano’s unique style.
Each house, staircase, and building was designed as part of a modular system intended to break down into reusable blocks. This approach not only opens up endless possibilities for new combinations but also optimizes time — crucial in projects where details are everything. Creating these assets was a meticulous process; I ensured that each piece would fit seamlessly with the others, both in terms of proportions and visual style.
This careful work took time, but it was worth it, as the prefabricated modules greatly sped up the set-dressing process. Using the initial cube layout as a flexible guide, I could place the buildings in the most efficient way, leveraging the blocking as a framework to maintain correct proportions and scale rather than as a rigid constraint.
Chapter 5: Modifying the Landscape
The most challenging aspect was using the spline tool to manipulate the terrain.
Positano’s coast is known for its terraced houses that seem to float above the mountainside, and recreating that sensation in a digital environment was no easy task. By using splines, I could control the terrain with precision, crafting the slopes and undulations necessary to mirror the region’s real topography.
This process was essential to maintaining the authenticity of the environment, allowing the buildings to follow the natural flow of the mountain.
Chapter 6: Texturing Process
Another standout feature of the Positano Stylized Pack is the level of detail in the texturing. Most materials were created in Substance Designer, a software I find much more comfortable than sculpting tools like ZBrush when generating materials. I believe this process is largely dependent on the artist’s preferences, but the key is to maintain a consistent level of detail that fits the project’s needs, avoiding any visual inconsistencies.
Additionally, I utilized trimsheets to optimize texturing throughout the development process. It began with the creation of the base mesh, followed by baking the bitmap to apply an initial polish in Substance Designer. From this bitmap, I crafted a more sculpted version, aiming to breathe life into the forms and prevent the lines from appearing too straight or precise, which gave the assets a more organic and stylized look.
Vegetation
For the foliage, I chose to use my free vegetation pack, which I created in parallel during the final stages of the Positano project. This pack includes ten types of trees and twenty-four varieties of grasses and flowers, all available for both Unity and Unreal, and it incorporates everything I learned throughout the project.
I used Blender for modeling and Substance 3D Painter for texturing these assets. I made these models toward the end, as I felt they were the finishing touch the project needed, and I was inspired to create something beautiful yet free. I followed a step-by-step approach to creating this tree style, then moved on to design the grasses and other plants.
With this additional pack, my goal is to bring more life to the environment and make these assets accessible to developers worldwide. In this way, I hope to give back, even if only a little, for the valuable feedback and support I’ve received from the local developer community.
At Lux Art Studios, my commitment is to create free resources that encourage creativity and exploration. Since my first steps in the 3D world, I’ve downloaded hundreds of free asset packs that inspired me immensely in crafting various scenes. I strongly believe that sharing resources can inspire others to experiment and develop their own artistic style. My hope is to enrich the industry with these small, accessible contributions so that any developer, regardless of experience level, has the opportunity to grow and contribute to making a more collaborative community in game development and animation.
Conclusion
The journey of bringing Positano from concept to a finished product has been long and full of challenges, but the final result has made every step worthwhile. The most valuable lesson I take from this project is that planning is essential. Without a clear structure, a project can easily lose direction, get lost in details, and never reach its full potential.
My advice to other artists and developers is this: don’t be afraid to change direction if necessary but always ensure those changes are grounded in a clear vision and a solid plan. And whenever you feel stuck, return to your references. Keeping a constant flow of visual inspiration is key to avoiding creative blocks.
If you’ve read this far, I encourage you to explore the Positano Stylized Pack for yourself and see how you can integrate it into your own projects. I can’t wait to see what you create with this pack!