CAELUM | SHIBUYA RECORD STORE

CAELUM

CAELUM is the final project submitted as part of my mentorship term at Think Tank (online). Unlike previous terms, this project was created using nanite and high poly for the majority of the scene, this was done in order to explore the cinematic aspect of UE5. Therefore, I decided to deviate from the normal low poly and bake workflow which I have previously worked on.
This short is based on the concept art of Sergey Vasnev - "Quiet Day". While the original art seems more peaceful, the short diverges completely from that and introduces a menacing atmosphere.

Unreal VCam

Additional footage was done using a phone camera connected to UE through LiveLink.

Asset Breakdown

Spaceship Timelapse

Spaceship Exploded Views

SpeedTree Foliage

To create the ivies growing on the subject, a medium poly model of the ship was imported to SpeedTree in order to be used as one of the forces to manipulate the vines in the right direction.

The rest of foliage assets consist of grass, shrubs and moss (as shown in the video above) with a variety in scale, color and world position tint. All of the assets were painted on terrain and ship.

Flying Spaceships

A Side view of additional spaceships seen breaking the sound barrier has been added at the end.

The presence of volumetric fog and animated light sources generated the lightning effect, as seen in the video below.

Material Breakdown

Procedural Shader

The Spaceship is made with one procedural shader consisting of multiple materials (created in Substance Designer), with 3 different masks to control the moss, the edge wear and the dirt. Each mask include parameters for further control.

 A separate normal map was added to the metallic material in order to create the spaceship hull for further definition. Additionally, I had to deal with nanite displacement of various materials in said shader.

A variation of the shader was used for the landscape mesh.

Substance Painter Masks

Substance Designer Main Materials

Eight main materials were used to render most of the scene extending from the spacecraft to the mountains. The shader helps prevent material tiling in mid and close-up shots therefore enhancing the wider ones.

GAEA Landscape Mesh

In order to control the composition of the landscape, 4 GAEA terrain meshes were used to create the scene, this was done by overlaying one on top of the other.

Card A: the main mesh seen in the foreground where the wreck of the spaceship lies. (this is the most detailed mesh)

Card B: used at the bottom of the mountains and serves as a transitional step between mountain and valley. 

Card C: frequently used mesh in building the mountains.

Card D: mainly used in the valley landscape.

The same shader was adopted on all cards using different masks. The vertex painting was applied to create the dirty/rocky trail in Card A.

Displacement Close-up/Foliage/Megascans Rocks

The Megascans rocks are mostly placed around the wreck to blend the spaceship with the crash site terrain. They are the only Megascans used in the project.

Scene In Layers

VFX

Shockwave

In the effect created by the passage of the spaceships, 2 Niagara shockwaves propagate throughout the medium. One is immediately dragged by the ship whist the other is pictured heading toward the viewer, creating an immersive experience.

Waterfall

For the waterfall, Niagara particles were used in the background of the alpha video, this helped generate more details and add bounce to the falling particles.

Lighting

The scene relies on directional light source with only 5 spotlights hitting different parts of the landscape. This was done in order to achieve an overcast atmosphere with sun rays sparsely distributed and partially piercing through the clouds. As for the clouds at the top of the mountains, EasyFog was used along with other customized cards.

Volumetric fog spheres were placed in the background and at on top of the mountains to turn a misty environment into a hazier one. Some of these fog spheres are tinted with blue to amplify atmospheric perspective and create depth.

Special Thanks

I had the privilege of having been under the mentorship of Damien Peinoit for my last term. His expertise and keen eye helped shape the final version of project. Thank you Damien for also making this an enjoyable experience!

I would also like to extend my gratitude to all my previous mentors: Johnny Malcolm, Toye Adeniran and Francis Bezooyen whom I learned so much from and whom have made this online experience unforgettable! 

The project was edited in DaVinci Resolve.

"A Quiet Day" Original Concept By Sergey Vasnev

SHIBUYA RECORD STORE

The Shibuya Record Store represents my advanced term project at Think Tank. In this course we learned a wealth of advanced techniques and skills under Johnny Malcolm that were used to create a game ready environment. I encountered a small UV glitch where random UV stretching was visible only in Unreal but I managed to work around it. A challenging but extremely fun term! 

I created everything you see in this project from scratch.

Lighting And Tree Variation 

Breakdown

High To Low Poly Bake 

Old Japanese mail post low poly.

High Poly

Prop Close-Ups

Bicycle

Mail Boxes And Traffic Cone

Vending Machine And Beverages Cans/Bottles

Books, Albums, Vinyl Records And Magazine Stand

The illustrations used below are A.I generated or taken Google. All were photoshopped to resemble actual covers.

Shop Signage And AC

Posters, Stickers And Graffiti

These were recreated in Photoshop in order to match the original concept.

Traffic Signs

Ad Banners

The recreated calligraphy and logos were drawn in substance painter using a second UV set which was then used as a mask to separate the materials on the board, one for the banner mesh and the other for calligraphy.

Emissive Panels

The emissive shaders control the panning speed, the intensity and the frequency of lights (flashing or fading/pulsing).

As for the facade light display, vertex colors were assigned to the mesh in Maya. This made it possible to control the light movement axis across the display grid, showcasing many patterns. Below is an example in the video.

Foliage

Ivy

Ivy leaves were sculpted in high poly and baked on low poly cards. Low poly leaf shaped cards were also inserted to add dimension. Vertex painting was applied to create leaf-browning effect (green, yellow and orange) in certain spots, as seen in the video below.

Old Cherry Blossom Tree

As a final touch and to reflect the cultural geography of Japan, a cherry blossom tree was added to the background giving vibrancy to the scene. This was the first attempt at working on foliage, which was an interesting challenge.

First the trunk and branches were modelled, next the cards were used for the twigs and then the flowers were baked (high to low poly).

Materials

Substance Designer

All materials were built in Substance Designer. The examples below cover most of them.

Vertex Painting Material Combinations

Water puddles, moss through grouts, leaks, rust on copper and more.

Special Thanks

Grateful for my instructor Johnny Malcolm and his Unreal wisdom!

"Shibuya Building" Original Concept By Pengzhen Zhang