Bag End - Unreal Engine 5

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

This opening from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" served as the inspiration for this piece. How do you make a place feel comforting? This was the central challenge I sought to acheive while lighting this environment. I looked at descriptions from the books, footage from the movies, and other artist renditions in order ot acheive this feeling of comfort and warmth through the lighting and composition. I started by scultping the rolling hills of The Shire before 3D modeling all of the necessary pieces for the house in Maya. After assembling in Unreal Engine 5, I used megascans to paint in foliage and create a visually pleasing final frame.

Between art directing cloud position, setting up over a dozen lights, and teaching myself how to light foliage, I learned a lot from this project. Stay tuned for a lighting study where I attempt to maintain the comfortable soft-focus feeling across daytime and nighttime!