LogInTimothy Dubois showed us the workflow behind the Mediterranean Coast project, explained how the vegetation was created in SpeedTree, and shared a trick for avoiding repetition in the trunk texture.
Introduction
Hi everyone! My name is Timothy Dubois, I'm a 26 years old environment artist from Belgium. I'm currently working at Spiders on GreedFall 2.
I discovered 3D in my teens while exploring graphic design, and it was a real revelation for me. Since then, I have never stopped doing 3D. I joined the CG Academy in Belgium, where I studied 3D for animation for three years. During that time, I experimented with many aspects of 3D and realized that my passion lay in creating environments for video games. To pursue this goal, I took a one-year course in Game Art at the same school, where I learned a lot from industry professionals.
If one word had to describe how I got to where I am today, it would probably be "practice". I quickly realised that going to a good school wasn't enough. But it was important to devote a lot of time to 3D if I wanted to improve and achieve my goals. Since then, whenever I have a spare moment, I do 3D. It has become a real passion for me, much more than a job.
References & Inspirations
The project has undergone several reboots and changes of direction since the beginning. It's not always easy to keep such a long project going over time. Especially when you have dozens of project ideas in your head. But I like to see things through to the end. I would say this project was born out of a strong desire to explore vegetation creation and level art further. By challenging myself to create the vegetation entirely from scratch and using mainly photographic references to compose my scene and give free rein to my imagination. With strong inspiration from games like A Plague Tale: Requiem and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.
Planning
As my primary focus was vegetation, I started this project in a slightly less conventional way: by creating the plants before imagining a complete scene. So, I started by researching references to Mediterranean flora.
I never embark on a project before I have a solid, well-organised reference board. And for that I really like working with PureRef to organise my projects. It's easy and intuitive, and the “Always on top” option is very useful.
First Foliage Assets
Once I was happy with my references, I created an initial base for the low vegetation. To create it, I used a mix of Blender and SpeedTree for modelling. As I wanted to have rather clean textures for the foliage, with no extraneous noise in the image, I used a base of flat colours for the foliage.
My process of creating vegetation varies a little depending on the plants, but the basis is the same. Initially, I simply work with colour plates and experiment to find silhouettes that I like.
Trees
For trees, for example, I started by blocking my first shapes in SpeedTree. Then I made the first version of my atlas for foliage and branches. I like doing it in SpeedTree because I can iterate easily and quickly with the tools it offers, although I sometimes make them in Blender or Substance 3D Designer. It depends on what I need, the type of vegetation and the time I can spend on it.
For the trunk, I created the material in Substance 3D Designer. The trick to avoiding repetition in the trunk texture is to create it in rectangular format, twice as high as it is wide. Like a 2048x4096 texture, for example. This can also be used to add elements that break up the homogeneity of the bark patterns. By mixing it with a version of this texture with bark coming off or moss to be added in certain places.
Flowers
For low vegetation, such as flowers, the process is more or less the same. I start by creating a set of flat colors, with a slight gradient, a bit like a trim sheet, in fact. I use Photoshop because all I need for this is a color map.
Then I switch to Blender to model different variations of petals, flowers, leaves, etc., which I'll then use in SpeedTree to make the final high poly version. Of course, I unwrap their UVs according to my colour trim sheet.
Then I switch to SpeedTree to complete my high poly. I like to assemble it in SpeedTree because the generator tools allow for a quick result. At this stage, the process is quite similar to the one I use for trees.
Into Unreal Engine
When my low vegetation was ready, I chose to go straight into Unreal Engine because it's more natural for me. I can test vegetation compositions and check that my assets are consistent with each other. I find it very quick to iterate with Unreal's terrain and foliage tools.
So first, I set up my scene with the landscape and its material. With “Landscape Material Layer Blending” I was able to prepare several materials, which will be blended according to their height when I paint them with the landscape tool. I also added a “landscape grass type” to some of these materials. This is used to procedurally distribute the chosen meshes over the terrain where we paint our material. I really like working this way at first, mixing it with the use of the “foliage” tool because it allows me to spread my grass and other plants quickly.
This enabled me to draw the first paths, the green spaces, determine my coastlines, and then I can place my first grey boxes representing my future buildings.
Buildings
For the creation of the buildings, I followed a fairly classic modular workflow. I created my different modules in Blender, which I then assembled in UE5. As I wanted several building shapes, I planned a range of walls with different doors, windows, roofs and wall angles. I used 4x4 and 2x4 meters modules for the walls.
For the brick and wood, which form the base of the structure, I preferred to make them in mesh to give my model some relief. So, I made them in the form of patches that I placed where I wanted them. Combined with Quixel Bridge decals and vertex paint using a vertex paint material, this really helped to break up the repetition and add some details to the building.
The tiles material I used as a base for the roof was made by my friend Antoine Déjean. Many thanks to him for his great work!
Materials
With this project, I also took the opportunity to practice on Substance 3D Designer. I don't do it very often, so I wanted to expand my knowledge of the subject.
The materials are fairly simple in their construction. For the plaster, for example, I simply used several shapes that I deformed, ran through a “tile sampler” node and mixed together to simulate different layers of thickness and give the non-uniform effect of plaster that was applied rather roughly. Then I refined and added damages, drips, and other marks that may be left during the laying process. For the color, I aimed for something pretty neutral because I knew that I was going to create color variations in UE5.
I always try to keep my textures as simple as possible. I try not to overload with unnecessary micro-details, which would add visual noise to the environment. So I try to achieve a look that's close to reality but with a touch of stylisation, with a kind of “clean” and smooth look. It's something I wanted for the overall rendering of the textures in this project.
Once in UE5, I then mixed it in my vertex paint shader with another material I made. This shader is quite simple and allows me to do some variations on the color, roughness, and width of the blend.
Composition
The level art and composition work were something I wanted to be central to this project, after the focus on the vegetation, as you'll have gathered. Even if I already had my seaside idea in mind, I wanted to be able to have a kit of vegetation, rocks, materials, and a modular kit of functional buildings to create almost the entire setting.
The composition is based initially on the rule of thirds. I wanted to create lines of force that all led to the buildings. Whether it's the path leading to them, the orientation of the rock, or the tree in the foreground, everything is simply based on the logical direction of the eye, from the left to the right. The foreground is clear enough to see the landscape in the distance, but it has to be in a mist so that it doesn't catch the eye too much at first look.
Background
For the background meshes, I chose to use a Megascans base, which I tweaked to go straight to the point. I used cliff meshes from Quixel Bridge, which I reworked in Substance 3D Painter to keep the base mesh but make a smoother texturing, with fewer micro-details.
I then created mountain meshes using World Machine to mix them with the cliffs. I took the opportunity to learn a bit about the software, as I hadn't had much experience creating mountains or other assets of this kind.
Lighting
One of the main reasons I like using UE5 is because I can get decent lighting results with Lumen without too much difficulty.
Lighting is always one of the most difficult challenges for me, but also one of the most rewarding. I think you can have the most beautiful assets in the world, staged in the most stunning of compositions, but if the lighting is poor it can ruin everything. So, it's essential to understand at least the basics.
I wanted the lighting to feel like the Mediterranean at first sight, with warm colors and a light exposure reminiscent of a sunny mid-afternoon. I naturally directed the sunlight from the left to my point of interest on the right to guide the eye.
Polishing
To add life to the environment, I used Quixel Bridge for some small assets and the Unreal Marketplace for VFX. Given that I wanted to add a bit of animation or small distant objects, I thought it would be a good idea to use the resources available to me rather than create them from scratch, as you wouldn't be able to see them up close.
Damage decals and leaks are very useful when you want to add detail and break up the repetition of textures. As for the VFX, I used the birds from Andrew Svanberg Hamilton's amazing “Rural Australia” pack, and the water is from tharlevfx's very useful “Water Materials”.
Conclusion
I learnt a lot from this environment and I really enjoyed making it. I was able to practice techniques and softwares that I wanted to improve or that I didn't know much about. And I've surpassed myself by setting greater constraints than my previous projects.
If I had just one piece of useful advice to give, it would be to share as much as possible with other people, artists or not, about what you do. Don't be afraid, especially if you're just starting out, to ask for help and feedback! It will give you a different perspective on your projects. The more time you spend on your work, the more you lose your critical eye. It's important to take a step back and get other opinions!
Thank you, 80 Level, for giving me this opportunity to share my work with you, and thank you to my friends for their support and feedback on this project.
I hope you enjoyed this article. Don't hesitate to contact me on ArtStation or LinkedIn!