Myth Valley - Timothy's Website

INTRODUCTION

Venture into a realm where the world is a canvas and the mist is its ink. Guided by the principles of Eastern aesthetics, we shape a reality from the power of silhouettes and the depth of atmosphere. Ancient gates stand as stark outlines against a grey sky, and solitary temples emerge from the swirling fog like memories. This is a journey through a world that values suggestion over statement, tranquility over turmoil. What secrets will you find etched in the shadows and whispered on the wind?

INSPIRATION

Inspired by the recent hit "Black Myth: Wukong" and the profound artistic conception outlined by the minimalist contours in traditional Chinese ink paintings, they extensively use silhouettes of mountains, architecture, and vegetation to shape the layers and narrative of the imagery. My goal is to blend the simple beauty of outlines with the hazy sensation of mist, creating a truly captivating ancient Eastern world.

MOODBOARD

Also I used Blender to analyze the distribution of each pixel in the color sphere (with a hue wheel and a saturation z axis) from the reference images of Black Myth: Wukong, and visualize the composition of all the colors. Providing a foundational reference to grading the lighting system I’ll do in UE later.

SKETCH

PROCESSION

1

Build whitebox of the terrain in UE5 based on the sketch above.

2

Create detailed terrain in Gaea, then export height maps of different layers to provide essentials for the blending terrain textures which will build in UE.

3

Lightning the scene. Using Ultra Dynamic Sky Plugin to create clouds with a rich sense of layering, Adjust the properties and colors of sunlight and volumetric fog to create an atmosphere similar to the reference image.

4

Place architectural assets and some trees that affects the composition of the scene. Using plant brush in foliage mode to create the remaining vegetation. Add fog, to create a sense of mystery, tranquility, and grandeur.

PROCESSION 01

Build White Box

When creating the white box scene, I enhanced the sense of hierarchy through using foreground, middle ground, and background, with backlight makes the edges more distinct, performing a strong sense of spatial depth.

Create Terrain by GAEA

To build the blending terrain textures, I used GAEA to procedurally generate the landscape and export a series of texture maps. My process began by establishing the terrain's foundational shapes using Mountain and Ridge nodes. To introduce naturalistic complexity, these shapes were then processed through Fold, Canyonizer, and Erosion nodes to simulate the effects of geological activity and weathering.

To build the blending terrain textures later in UE, I used GAEA to export height maps with separate nodes.

Edit Terrain in UE

The blending material uses the exported Erosion and Soil maps as masks to blend various PBR materials, such as rock and moss, to create a natural and layered surface. Guided by the camera angle, I sculpted additional details precisely where needed.

Lighting

I am heavily inspired by the ethereal atmosphere of "Black Myth: Wukong" and the unique climate of Southern China's coastal hills when casting the light. To capture the region's mist-shrouded, otherworldly feel, I utilized the Ultra Dynamic Sky plugin to generate dense, layered clouds and pervasive volumetric fog. The color grading leans towards a cool, desaturated cyan-blue palette, simulating the diffused light of an overcast, rainy day. The use of strong backlighting casts the mountains and temple into sharp silhouettes. Enhances the scene's contrast and depth.

PROCESSION 02

Model Optimization & Details Adjustment

Next, I focused on replacing placeholder assets with high-fidelity models. For the core temple architecture, I used the architecture by unpacking the assets from "Black Myth: Wukong". These high-precision models replaced the main white box structures. For the natural environment, I utilized the FAB plugin within the Unreal Marketplace to select high-quality free vegetation assets, which replaced the initial placeholder geometry and populated the scene with organic detail.

To enhance the details, I began by painting grass on the landscape. To ensure visual cohesion, I modified the grass material to seamlessly integrate it with the environment. Furthermore, I placed some key foreground assets like branches, skeleton & swords. Strengthens the composition by adding such crucial layers of depth.

Atmosphere & Fog

Atmosphere is paramount in Eastern aesthetic, and fog is the most important stuff for it. Fog can simplifies scenes and transforms mountains and architecture into silhouettes.

I used fog sheets from the Easy Fog plugin. These fog can soften the transition between the terrain and the sky, wrap around the bases of mountains, and create distinct layers between different elements. This layering technique breaks up sightlines, deepens the composition, and ultimately crafts the ethereal, tranquil, and authentically Chinese atmosphere that was the core vision of the project.

Animation & VFX

First, I created a gentle animation for the temple bell. Rigging the bell asset with skeleton and then making a looping animation curve to simulate its gentle sway in the breeze. After that, I added circling birds. To optimize performance, I choose to use a VFX instead of the traditional animated meshes.

By using the Optimization Viewmodes in UE, performance optimization can be achieved by removing lights and vegetation that have minimal impact on the visuals.

Finally, I placed cameras and created a level sequences, making final adjustments based on composition such as details of grass and lighting before rendering.