Snow Shod Farm (Fan Art) - Environment UE4.

Environment developed in UE4, one of my University Final Major Projects completed in May 2022.
A re-creation of Snow Shod Farm, located south of Riften in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

​Workflow and Production:
The mountain and rocky bank meshes were generated in World Creator and then refined through modeling, UV, and optimization methods in Maya and ZBrush.
Following a base level sculpt using UE's naive landscape tools for the terrain, I built a custom master landscape shader in UE4, following Ben Cloward’s tutorial series. The shader featured height, distance blending, tiling variation, and displacement, enabling me to produce a realistic and cohesive landscape biome.

I modelled and textured bespoke assets, including the windmill, cabin, and a set of rocky bank mesh variations.
These were scattered across the low level landscape sculpt to efficiently add high-level geometry, enhancing the realism. I developed a vertex blend material, allowing additional control to layer further detail, such as mud, over the top of the base rock precisely where needed.

Additional work included implementing chimney smoke FX using Niagara, and kitbashing third party assets (foliage, trees, small rocks, and boulders) to support the overall narrative and visual target.
Lighting: The scene was lit using dynamic lighting, incorporating Sky Atmosphere, Skylight, Exponential Height Fog, and Volumetric Clouds to achieve realistic outdoor lighting conditions.

Awards:
Rookie Awards 2022 – Rookie of the Year (Finalist)
BeloFX People’s Choice Award – Snow-Shod Farm Cinematic