Breakdown: Creating a Frozen City with a Medieval & Gothic Architecture

Introduction

My name is Léo, I'm 26 years old, and I'm French. I've been passionate about art and video games since early childhood. Everything I've done in my life has been oriented toward working in this industry. It's not just an interest, it's something deeply rooted in me. I've always loved fictional and fantastical universes. I write stories, I sketch small comics, I create 3D models, and I build textures. I'm a nerd, a geek, and I fully embrace it.

Throughout my childhood, I was constantly drawn toward technology. Whether it was cartoons, films, comic books, or playing on my Game Boy, I was always fascinated by digital worlds. One day, a family member showed me a game called Garry's Mod shortly after it came out. At the time, it was almost unknown. What completely blew my mind was the fact that you could create inside it. You could download assets, spawn them, and build environments. I couldn't understand how a "game" allowed that level of freedom.

For me, Garry's Mod was not really a game. It was a toy. And there's an important distinction. A game has rules. A toy doesn't. Garry's Mod had no objectives, no imposed story, no real boundaries. You just launched it and did whatever you wanted. If you had programming skills, you could even create your own game modes. That freedom is what made me fall in love not only with environment creation but also with Valve and the Steam ecosystem.

It led me to explore titles like Team Fortress and Counter-Strike, and it deeply shaped how I see interactive worlds. At first, I tried to create assets for Garry's Mod without understanding anything. There was no guidance, no mentor. I had to learn everything on my own. I gathered information online piece by piece and trained myself in a completely self-taught way.

After graduating from high school, I took entrance exams for video game schools. I passed two of them and eventually joined Rubika in Valenciennes. That formal education helped structure my workflow, but the foundation had already been built through curiosity, experimentation, and obsession.

I wouldn't say I've worked on globally famous projects, but I've contributed to several meaningful ones. I created a short cinematic set in the Fallout universe that was released for the game's tenth anniversary. I produced a 3D recreation of animated artworks by artist Meat Canyon. I worked on a 3D reconstruction of Notre-Dame for its reopening, collaborating with the CNRS for acoustic testing simulations.

I also worked with the French TV channel M6 on house renovation programs. On the freelance side, I created content for platforms like Roblox and Second Life. I also developed a small game called A Day with Mochi, available for free on itch.io.

Nogroth Project

The video game industry has become extremely difficult to enter. It was already competitive before, but in recent years it has become unstable and saturated. As a junior, finding a job felt nearly impossible. I was spending my days applying everywhere, writing CVs, writing cover letters, and every morning started with rejection emails.

That built frustration. And honestly, anger. When I saw the challenge, I took it as a sign. I decided to use it as a way to prove something, both to the industry and to myself. I didn't want to stay passive anymore. I wanted to demonstrate that I could deliver at a high level. 

I discovered the Veil of Realms challenge organized by Leartes, and I decided to join almost immediately. The organizers provided several concept artworks by Max Bedulenko. I scrolled through them and selected one featuring a large exterior building surrounded by snow. It immediately resonated with me.

Winter was approaching in real life, days were getting shorter, and I felt connected to that atmosphere. I liked the idea of working on something cold, monumental, and slightly melancholic.

I wanted to step outside my comfort zone. Most of my previous environments were interiors, small buildings, props, or dioramas. This time, I wanted scale. If I were going to treat this challenge seriously, I had to push myself. So I deliberately chose a large architectural piece that would force me to handle composition, scale, modularity, and optimization at a higher level.

References & Composition

First, I dissected the concept art entirely. I broke it down into categories: roofs, beams, wood types, stone, snow, ice, tree trunks, and structural logic. Then I gathered extensive real-world references for each component. The concept became my primary reference, and everything else was built around reinforcing its credibility. I didn't improvise randomly. I reverse-engineered the image and rebuilt it piece by piece.

I strictly followed the proportions and perspective of Max Bedulenko's artwork. I had Unreal Engine open on one screen and the concept on the other. I matched the camera height, horizon line, and focal point. Then I started placing primitive shapes and constantly compared both screens. It was a continuous back-and-forth process until the proportions aligned visually.

The blockout was done directly inside Unreal Engine using simple primitives. Once I was satisfied, I selected groups of meshes and used the merge tools to create exportable assets.

I then imported that merged blockout into 3ds Max and used it as a structural guide for precise modeling.

Modeling

Before modeling, I created a clear action plan in PureRef. I identified which assets would tile, which would use trim sheets, and which would rely on atlases. I built modular kits: tree trunks, beams, planks, and structural components. Once prepared, I assembled everything in 3ds Max directly on top of the exported blockout, almost like Lego pieces. It was systematic and efficient.

Everything had to remain simple and optimized. The rules forbade using external assets, so I had to produce everything myself. I focused on modularity and reusability. For example, I created around sixteen tree trunk variations and reused them by rotating, mirroring, and duplicating them to avoid visible repetition. I relied heavily on atlas techniques and shared UVs to reduce material complexity and improve performance.

And I did this for most of the project. A set of props, sharing the same UVs. Assembling them like Legos in 3ds Max based on the blockout I exported out of Unreal Engine. Importing it back into the engine.

Retopology & Texturing

I am honestly not a fan of retopology. I try to structure my workflow in a way that minimizes it as much as possible. In some cases, I start with a clean low-poly mesh and sculpt a high-poly version in ZBrush, which I then bake inside Substance 3D Painter.

In other cases, I sculpt directly in ZBrush and use its decimation tools to generate a low-poly version from the high-poly. After that, I unwrap the model in 3ds Max and bring everything into Substance 3D Painter for baking. The goal is always to stay efficient and avoid unnecessary technical steps.

Optimization and modularity remained the priority. I created master materials inside Unreal Engine and generated instances from them. That allowed me to quickly create variations without rebuilding shader logic every time. For the wood, I merged multiple assets that shared the same UV space to create atlases.

Once inside Unreal Engine, the master material allowed me to adjust snow coverage from the top only, tweak texture sharpness, modify tint, and add per-instance color variation automatically. That randomization helped break repetition while staying efficient. Regarding the ice, there was actually no water in the scene.

What appears as depth is created using Parallax Occlusion Mapping. It gives the illusion of volume without real geometry. It's not complicated to implement, and the visual payoff is strong. It's a technique I recommend exploring because it's versatile and performant when used correctly.

Composition & Details

When the blockout matched the concept, I saved a camera bookmark in Unreal Engine to preserve the exact framing. At the end of each session, I took screenshots. The next day, I reviewed them with fresh eyes to evaluate readability and balance.

I relied on basic composition principles like the rule of thirds and avoided unnecessary visual clutter. Readability at different distances was critical. I constantly checked whether the scene was clear from far away or collapsed into visual noise.

Once the main structure was stable, I created multiple low-poly assets and converted them into foliage instances. I then scattered them using Unreal Engine's foliage tools. It allowed me to add variation quickly while keeping performance under control.

Lighting & Animation

The lighting had to match Max Bedulenko's overcast mood. Overcast lighting is deceptively simple but difficult to balance. It can easily flatten volumes and kill contrast. My main challenge was preventing the scene from looking dull or washed out. I made many small adjustments to preserve shadow depth. In the post-process volume, I slightly reinforced the shadows to regain contrast.

I also placed distant mountain impostors using PNG images on planes. Their purpose was to darken overly bright background areas and improve foreground separation. The process was very iterative. I constantly stepped away from the screen and evaluated overall readability from a distance.

Unreal Engine's Level Sequence tool made the process straightforward. I placed a cinematic camera in the scene and defined keyframes at specific timestamps. The sequence controlled only the camera movement. There were no complex tricks involved. It was simply about setting keyframes and refining the motion curve until it felt smooth. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective.

Conclusion

I would estimate that it took me between 100 and 200 hours to finish. I didn't track it precisely, but that range is realistic. Some days I worked one or two hours. Other days, I worked twelve hours straight, sometimes overnight. It became immersive. I would listen to music and enter a focused state where time disappeared.

The biggest challenge was doing everything alone. Modeling, high-poly, low-poly, baking, texturing, optimization, assembly, lighting, animation, editing in Premiere Pro, sound design. It was a one-man production. Optimization was also demanding. The scene contains hundreds of thousands of elements, yet it needed to remain efficient.

Another major challenge was maintaining readability in an overcast environment dominated by cold tones like white, gray, and blue. The competition level was extremely high, which forced me to stay disciplined and push every stage of the pipeline seriously.

I learned that structure and planning are essential. Breaking down a concept before starting production saves enormous time later. I also learned how powerful sound design can be. At the end, I added music and sound effects to the final video, and it completely transformed the piece. It wasn't technically complex, just simple audio layering, but it injected life into the scene. Sound and image are inseparable. Together, they elevate each other.

My advice for beginning artists is to first analyze the market before committing entirely to this path. The video game industry is currently unstable and extremely competitive. I don't want talented young artists to invest years of study only to face a closed market without preparation.

Second, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Avoid over-specializing too early. Even if you love character design, learn about weapons, clothing, materials, history, anatomy, and other disciplines. Stay curious. Read. Research. Build credibility. Today, being good at one thing is often not enough. Versatility increases resilience.

I would like to sincerely thank Leartes for organizing the Veil of Realms challenge and for creating opportunities like this for artists to push themselves and showcase their work. Competitions like this matter, especially in a difficult industry context.

I also want to thank 80 Level for the opportunity to share my process and experience. Platforms that highlight artists and give visibility to individual journeys play an important role in the community.

Leo Gosselet, Environment Artist and Set Dresser

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine