I was rendering a shot every week, so my render settings were set up well early on. I follow William Faucher’s lighting and rendering videos as a starting point to get high-quality results. I highly recommend anyone who’s getting into rendering in Unreal to check out his stuff.

When rendering, it’s very important to give yourself enough time to render multiple times because there is nearly always something off or out of place that will appear. Even though my render settings were good throughout the project, I still had to make adjustments towards the end.

Conclusion

The entire project was created in about 14-16 weeks. The first week was choosing a concept, the second week was reference gathering, and the last 14 weeks were spent creating. The main challenge was creating a large library of assets without sacrificing quality and keeping the style consistent across the board. I learned how to push tiling materials even further while avoiding noticeable repetition. One of the biggest lessons was that I don’t need to make every single asset the most perfect prop in the world if it’s barely seen. It is much more effective to prioritize the most noticeable and important aspects of the scene when there’s a time limit.

Our goal as artists is to make everything to the best of our ability, but if no one is going to see the nails or boxes up close, then you don’t need to spend as much on them compared to the weapons and workbench. Make them look as amazing as you can, but don’t get so hung up on it that the project takes forever to finish. It is typical for artists to be perfectionists, but it is important to spend our time wisely and think about the big picture. Just like painting traditionally, I will often stand up and look at my screen from across the room or even look away for a moment to try and forget the scene so I can come back with fresh eyes. This helps to avoid getting tunnel vision.

If I were to give any advice to someone beginning their 3D journey, I’d say the most important thing is to have fun, create what you love, study the real world, never stop learning, and don’t keep comparing yourself to people with years or even decades of experience. Something else I’d recommend if you really want to improve fast is to be constantly seeking feedback and critiques. Don’t get offended when getting critiqued; it is easy to take it personally, but 90 percent of the time, it’s to help you improve on your craft. For nearly every art project I have critiqued, another person will spot something I was unaware of. Not all advice is good, which is why it’s important to get feedback from as many people as possible. Lastly, I want to mention that it has been a tough time in the industry, and my heart goes out to everyone who has been affected. To anyone like me who is seeking their first position or just beginning their 3D journey, don’t despair. Focus on the journey, keep creating art, and remind yourself why you’re pursuing this career. Why do I do this? Because I love it.

Brandon Walsh, 3D Environment Artist