Scandinavia 876 A.D. (UE4)

Scandinavia 876 A.D. is the visual component to my Graduate Thesis at my University (Savannah College of Art & Design).

The thesis was based on "The Breaking of Cultural Stereotypes & Clichés Through Environmental Storytelling".
With Visual piece I made a large-scale environment in UE4 with the goals of delivering a highly detailed environment that could show glimpses of the Scandinavian culture without over glorifying the "violent/viking" aspects of the culture. I instead focused on a beautiful village with domestic identity and life.

Throughout the entire project length I continuously built modular assets and props to fill the world and build the homesteads, while hand-sculpting the terrain and painting it with material blend layers. Lighting was also a consistent process of reworks and alterations, where I eventually settled on a simplified utilization of ray tracing and real-time lighting. Quixel Megascans was used to bring the environment to life with their abundance of vegetation.

While my thesis is now complete, I plan to continue progressing on this piece over time. So while I won't specifically title it a Work in Progress, it is likely that you will see updates if you check back on this project at future dates. Currently on this page you can see my newest cinematic, a quick breakdown cinematic, rendered images, and a few prop images as well.

Scandinavian Hill Top: This shot of the hilltop was my 2nd most focused shot in production. I Sculpted the terrain all by hand, and this spot immediately stuck out to me. I kept the set dressing minimal and let the sky and grass do most of the work.

Scandinavian Hill Top: This shot of the hilltop was my 2nd most focused shot in production. I Sculpted the terrain all by hand, and this spot immediately stuck out to me. I kept the set dressing minimal and let the sky and grass do most of the work.

Scandinavia Flythrough

Scandinavian Homesteads:
I built all of the architectural assets modularly so that I could build a number of different homes with relative ease, and then setdress them uniquely with props and painted grass/foliage

Scandinavian Homesteads:
I built all of the architectural assets modularly so that I could build a number of different homes with relative ease, and then setdress them uniquely with props and painted grass/foliage

Scandinavian Village: This was the focal shot I spent the most time working on. I believe the terrain materials and foliage really helped bring the aesthetic of the world alive along with my basic materials consisting of woods, stones, bone, and linen.

Scandinavian Village: This was the focal shot I spent the most time working on. I believe the terrain materials and foliage really helped bring the aesthetic of the world alive along with my basic materials consisting of woods, stones, bone, and linen.

Scandinavia Homestead

Scandinavia Homestead

Scandinavian Farm: The farm was another chance to show another shot away from the large-scale village shots that dominated a lot of my early work.

Scandinavian Farm: The farm was another chance to show another shot away from the large-scale village shots that dominated a lot of my early work.

Scandinavian Village: All of the foliage/grass came from quixel megascans, and the trees from the unreal marketplace. This allowed me the time necessary to build and light such a large world along with a significant number of my own props.

Scandinavian Village: All of the foliage/grass came from quixel megascans, and the trees from the unreal marketplace. This allowed me the time necessary to build and light such a large world along with a significant number of my own props.

Scandinavian Forest Path

Scandinavian Forest Path

Environment Timelapse: See how the environment progressed over the course of my thesis project. The first couple images showcase it before I changed the entire world layout.

The original layout of the environment was completely scraped. I had originally envisioned a more "skyrim" like approach to city building. This was that original idea which was removed for more authenticity.

The original layout of the environment was completely scraped. I had originally envisioned a more "skyrim" like approach to city building. This was that original idea which was removed for more authenticity.

World from Above based on the more authentic revision of the scene.

World from Above based on the more authentic revision of the scene.

With the terrain shader I wanted to create more realistic looking ground, and this meant I needed to blend grass and dirt materials. I also brought in some water/puddle decals from the epic marketplace.

With the terrain shader I wanted to create more realistic looking ground, and this meant I needed to blend grass and dirt materials. I also brought in some water/puddle decals from the epic marketplace.

A Well (Painted with Substance)

A Well (Painted with Substance)

A Wagon (Painted with Substance)

A Wagon (Painted with Substance)

A Wood & Metal Mallet (Painted with Substance)

A Wood & Metal Mallet (Painted with Substance)

A Barrel (Painted with Substance)

A Barrel (Painted with Substance)

Beam A

Beam A

Beam B

Beam B

Column A

Column A

Column B

Column B

Blacksmith Table

Blacksmith Table

Shield (Front View)

Shield (Front View)

Shield (Angled view)

Shield (Angled view)

Mood Board and Inspirations 01

Mood Board and Inspirations 01

Mood Board and Inspirations 02

Mood Board and Inspirations 02

Mood Board and Inspirations 03

Mood Board and Inspirations 03

Mood Board and Inspirations 04

Mood Board and Inspirations 04