This project was an ad for Adobe Express, where we were tasked with making an ICVFX for practical sets with real actors. We had a reference image of rolling hills from Ireland that I was tasked with matching. I used Gaea to build the mountains and establish the layout and look of the scene. I started with a modular mountain and add variations add needed. I used those mountains to get the layout feeling good from the stage point of view. I also established the lighting and look of the scene based on the reference with the leads adjusting for the stage volume vs work station pixels. I found an HDR that worked well with the reference and the scene. I then made sure that the lighting made sense with the new sky and sun direction.

My co-worker Kiser used PCG to scatter foliage and rocks around the scene, where I painted Unreal Landscape layers to influence placement. I also did some hand sculpting of the foreground to get the desired look from the grass growing on top. To finish the mountains, I used some splat mapping and tiling approaches to get the hills feeling grassy from a distance without having to rely on spawning grass. The type of erosion and layering I did in Gaea helps with this too.

Credits: Real-time Art Department Supervisor: Bryan Brown, Art Lead: Gennady Babichenko, Environment Artist: Chris Kiser

Software: Unreal Engine 5, Maya, Gaea, Substance Painter