For questions relating to the current active challenge please use the tag UnrealChallenge
For submissions please include the tag BetterLightThanNever
A Final Request
Hey everyone!
So I had an absolute blast working on this piece and can’t wait to start making more short environment snippets like this! There are plenty of things here and there which if I had more time I would fix, but overall I’m very pleased with the result and couldn’t have done it without some helpful critiques from my friends!
I’ve always had a soft spot for clouds and large vistas and recently purchased the Ultra Dynamic sky plugin ( which makes life so much easier ) and so I knew I wanted to make a scene with some low level clouds and fog and terrain from Gaea.
The overall composition and color palette remained roughly the same throughout the iterations however the focal point and story of the location changed quite a bit. From a sorcerer’s lair, to a lighthouse for fantasy airships and zeppelins, and finally back to a sorcerer’s dwelling with larger than life eagles ( aka crows lol )
The most difficult part of this challenge for me was trying to get my focal point to stand out from the surrounding environment and making sure that the sunset wasn’t the dominant aspect of it while maintaining a nice balance between the two dominant colors as well as a broad range of values.
Initially the shot was going to remain static and seen from a distance, but I felt the image needed more dynamic elements so I tried out various camera movements ( panning across the scene, following the birds up close and revealing the mountaintop lair, panning from the sunset over to the lair. I finally went with a simpler shot with a slow dolly and zoom focusing on the lair and birds.
If you have any questions about my process or anything I didn’t cover please feel free to ask!
WIP
Here is one of the earlier shots where clouds dominate the scene
If you squint you can make out one of the zeppelins in the distance.
WIP
In this shot the focal point is not visible enough and is too far off center from the camera while the birds are almost lost in the darkness.
Student Submission: No
Credits to sourced content:
Sonniss - 2019 GDC Audio Bundle
Protofactor Inc - Animal Variety Pack
Everett Gunther - Ultra Dynamic Sky
CineTracks - Nordic Tales The North
UE5 Content Example materials
Quixel Megascans
Personal Content from previous project
