Stephanie Davila
3D Artist @ Pariah Interactive
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Secret Glade

With the warm days of summer behind us, and the chill of autumn now settling in, I wanted to finish up a piece that had been collecting dust in my WIP folder.

I've been experimenting with a more stylized, non PBR artflow, and wanted to create a low-poly scene using all unlit, hand-painted materials.
The scene started with the Avian statue, with the other elements coming into play as I developed the peaceful vibe I was going for. Soon the concept of a forgotten statue within a secret glade began to take shape, and I leaned into that aesthetic. Sources of inspiration when texturing included Legend of Zelda Breath of the WIld, Ni No Kuni, and Studio Ghbli films.

One of the new techniques I had a lot of fun playing around with was baking the light into the textures. This gave life and dimension to the objects despite it being unlit, and created a unique look one can't really achieve with regular lighting.
Similarly, I had a blast with UE5 NIagra, which I find to be both arcane and infinitely easier than UE4 Cascade. I think I like Niagra more, though!

Overall this project was a ton of fun to create, as well as a great experience in dabbling with UE5.

Zbrush and Maya used for sculpting, rigging, animation, and UV's, and Photoshop, Substance Painter, and Substance Designer used for texturing.

UE5 used for scene layout and rendering, Premiere Pro used for compiliation and sound mixing.

The bird was a later addition; I wanted to add an element of life into the scene without overshadowing the main focus of the scene, which is the statue and the tree. I felt the bird added some vivality while mirroring the theme of the avian statue.

The bird was a later addition; I wanted to add an element of life into the scene without overshadowing the main focus of the scene, which is the statue and the tree. I felt the bird added some vivality while mirroring the theme of the avian statue.

Cherry tree in two variations -- I initially had the statue sitting offset to the center of the tree, as seen in the right models roots. Later on I prefered a more symmetrical look, and thus changed the tree to the final version on the left.

Cherry tree in two variations -- I initially had the statue sitting offset to the center of the tree, as seen in the right models roots. Later on I prefered a more symmetrical look, and thus changed the tree to the final version on the left.

Avian statue with moss.

Avian statue with moss.

Avian statue without moss.

Avian statue without moss.

Various ferns and grasses for the scene.

Various ferns and grasses for the scene.

Rear wall with passageway. The inital plan was to simply have this as a recess, but I felt later that it would be more mysterious if it were a tunnel or cave into parts unknown.

Rear wall with passageway. The inital plan was to simply have this as a recess, but I felt later that it would be more mysterious if it were a tunnel or cave into parts unknown.

Secondary rock wall that forms the outer sections of the scene.

Secondary rock wall that forms the outer sections of the scene.

The pillars in the scene were three individual meshes; One whole, and a second broken in two.

The pillars in the scene were three individual meshes; One whole, and a second broken in two.

Handpainted Foliage Sheets

Handpainted Foliage Sheets

Initial sketches of the statue within the space, the tree was added later.

Initial sketches of the statue within the space, the tree was added later.

Early sketch of the tree and general limb placement.

Early sketch of the tree and general limb placement.

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