Sam Fereday
Environment Artist
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Don't Look Down

As the main image for the scene, the aim here was to capture the tavern as the main focal point. Values play a crucial role here in getting the balance right. I made use of vertex painting to push more variation too.

As the main image for the scene, the aim here was to capture the tavern as the main focal point. Values play a crucial role here in getting the balance right. I made use of vertex painting to push more variation too.

Closing in on the bridge area here, the rusted trim added a more industrial feeling. Initially this wasn't part of the plan, but I experimented with different materials out of curiosity and I think it worked out quite well.

Closing in on the bridge area here, the rusted trim added a more industrial feeling. Initially this wasn't part of the plan, but I experimented with different materials out of curiosity and I think it worked out quite well.

The airship started out as something quite different to this. Due to time constraints it made more sense to simplify the design and create a barge instead, however I feel like it fits a lot better anyway.

The airship started out as something quite different to this. Due to time constraints it made more sense to simplify the design and create a barge instead, however I feel like it fits a lot better anyway.

Another angle showing the transition of depth. Cooler colours help push the background out of priority so elements in the scene aren't battling with each other for interest.

Another angle showing the transition of depth. Cooler colours help push the background out of priority so elements in the scene aren't battling with each other for interest.

The cobblestones added a sense of the traditional to the scene, they were a bit challenging to set up but ended up looking okay. They make use of parallax mapping to give them a sense of depth.

The cobblestones added a sense of the traditional to the scene, they were a bit challenging to set up but ended up looking okay. They make use of parallax mapping to give them a sense of depth.

Initially these props were created as an experiment in another material-only project based in Substance Designer. Since they were sat gathering dust, this ended up being a great opportunity to put them to good use.

Initially these props were created as an experiment in another material-only project based in Substance Designer. Since they were sat gathering dust, this ended up being a great opportunity to put them to good use.

Volumetric fog was quite useful for adding a sense of depth to the void between the buildings. It's probably not the safest city to live in if you've had one too many at the tavern...

Volumetric fog was quite useful for adding a sense of depth to the void between the buildings. It's probably not the safest city to live in if you've had one too many at the tavern...

Progress capture from start to finish. Some of the blockout pieces were salvaged from the first attempt at this scene, which was a huge time saver and allowed for a more efficient refactor.

These are the props that helped to give the scene more life. Initially I started out with a lot more, but you don't need a lot for something to work well.

These are the props that helped to give the scene more life. Initially I started out with a lot more, but you don't need a lot for something to work well.

Similar to the props, this kit ended up forming the majority of the buildings that can be seen. Vertex painting, material swapping and combinations of different meshes allowed for variation which was absolutely key to keep things interesting.

Similar to the props, this kit ended up forming the majority of the buildings that can be seen. Vertex painting, material swapping and combinations of different meshes allowed for variation which was absolutely key to keep things interesting.

A simple set up created from the kit, including the use of parallax mapping to create a sense of depth behind the windows.

A simple set up created from the kit, including the use of parallax mapping to create a sense of depth behind the windows.

These were the most used materials in the project. I got a lot of help from the texture hunt collection and brush damage packs, mixed in with a couple of my own images. These really helped move the material process along quicker.

These were the most used materials in the project. I got a lot of help from the texture hunt collection and brush damage packs, mixed in with a couple of my own images. These really helped move the material process along quicker.

Don't Look Down

This is 'Don't Look Down', a project that has been put together with the excellent mentorship and guidance of Jeremy Cerisy and Lucien Gillonnier, please check out their portfolio's at:
https://www.artstation.com/jcerisy
https://www.artstation.com/luciengillonnier

Built using Blender, put togther in Unreal Engine, textured using a mixture of Substance Designer, Substance Painter and Photoshop, this piece was inspired by Edinburgh, Dishonoured and a little bit of final fantasy IX.
I wondered what it might be like if a city was somehow built high up or floating. The area shown is one of the many harbours that could house an airship or two. I wanted to give the piece a theme of 'rebuilding', and communicate a place that's stood the test of time, ever providing somewhere for people to kick back after a long day and enjoy a song or two whilst they're at it.
At the same time I wanted to visualise how this might transfer to a classic RPG with a fixed camera (referring back to Final Fantasy IX), and picturing how the player might experience travelling through a city such as this.
It took me a couple of goes to get right, and I learnt a lot from putting it together. Some lessons that stood out the most: If you aren't sure on what the shape of the final scene is going to be, then do more planning. And, less is definitely more, especially when time constraints are in place.

Many thanks to Jeremy and Lucien for their brilliant guidance and TheBaseMesh discord group for their continued support and encouragement.

The project makes use of the TextureHunt collection packs by Spencer Rose (https://www.artstation.com/commonspence) and trim brush damage textures by Amir Kabiri (https://www.artstation.com/amirkabiri), both of which were really useful in speeding up the material creation process.

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