Unreal Engine Environments

For my 3D Materials and Lighting course, I developed three contrasting, realistic environments within Unreal Engine, exploring the dynamics of light, texture, and atmosphere. Each scene was constructed using Megascans assets and enhanced through a carefully calibrated HDRI lighting setup integrated with Lumen for real-time global illumination. I used procedural foliage, dynamic fog, and terrain sculpted in Quixel Mixer to achieve naturalistic landscapes, while Unreal’s Water plugin added motion and depth through dynamic reflections and surface detail. The completed environments were brought to life using Sequencer to animate a cinematic camera path and refined through Post Process Volume settings to balance color, tone, and mood. The project culminated in a fully rendered short video that highlights the immersive qualities of each environment and demonstrates a cohesive understanding of lighting and environmental storytelling in 3D space.