Learn How to Stylize an Old Lighthouse Using Unreal Engine 5
Jean-Fabrice Blanc explained how he created The Old Lighthouse project, detailing how he organized his workflow and how he handled sculpting and texturing to achieve a realistic look.
Introduction
Hello everyone, my name is Jean-Fabrice Blanc. I'm 23 years old, based in France, and I've been working as a 3D Environment Artist for about a year. I've been passionate about graphic arts from a very young age, which naturally led me toward 3D.
I studied Game Art for three years at Rubika Valenciennes, where I explored many aspects of 3D production through various projects, with a growing interest in Environment. After completing my studies, I had my first professional experience as a Level Artist at Evil Empire. This experience confirmed my desire to focus my career on Environment Art creation and world-building.
The Old Lighthouse
This project had several objectives. The primary goal was to enhance my ability to interpret a reference image and translate it into a stylized 3D environment. I had wanted to work on more stylized projects for a long time, as this artistic direction resonates with me the most. However, I didn't want the result to feel overly cartoonish or exaggerated.
The goal was to find a balance, keeping a grounding in reality while pushing stylization through textures and lighting. From a production standpoint, I also wanted to keep the scope under control. This is a common mistake for artists: starting projects that are too ambitious, losing momentum, and eventually abandoning them.
Having faced this problem myself, I decided to focus on a smaller but compelling subject. Several criteria guided my choice of reference image:
- A strong stylization potential, with a wide range of materials to interpret.
- A simple but striking composition, allowing me to focus on quality rather than quantity.
- A strong personal connection to the image.
Actually, I can't say exactly what drew me to this lighthouse. It might be its worn, almost abandoned look, or the sense of loneliness it conveys. It could also stem from the contrast between a simple composition and the complexity of the textures that shape the structure. In any case, I immediately saw its potential as a 3D environment.
Workflow and Iteration
Like most of my projects, The Old Lighthouse went through many iterations. The workflow was far from linear. Even after completing certain stages, I often went back to adjust or redo parts of the scene. These changes were driven either by my own critical eye or by feedback received during production.
In my opinion, this back-and-forth is not only normal but necessary. Making mistakes, questioning your work, and starting over are essential parts of the learning process. The first step was gathering references. Today, their importance is widely acknowledged. References help clarify ideas, solve visual problems, and push the overall quality of a project.
They can come from many sources: video games, other artists' work, photographs, paintings, or even toys and sculptures. What matters most is their relevance to the subject. For this project, most of my references came from stylized 3D environments, both from games and from artists whose work I admire.
Blockout & Modeling
Once the references were gathered, I moved on to the blockout. This stage was mainly about establishing strong foundations: proportions, composition, initial lighting intentions, and overall mood. Although I was aiming for a stylized result, I chose not to exaggerate the proportions too much. I wanted to keep a realistic base that would later contrast with more stylized textures and lighting. All the modeling for the project was done in Blender.
Starting from the blockout, I created the final meshes by refining shapes and proportions. I also had to find the right balance between visual quality and optimization. Since this was a portfolio piece, I allowed myself a relatively medium polycount to prioritize the final look. In a production environment, this choice would obviously depend on technical constraints and asset importance.
I then created high-poly versions of the meshes for baking, sculpted in ZBrush. The sculpting focused on breaking straight lines, adding subtle Roughness, and introducing wear on edges and bevels. I kept this stage intentionally restrained, as most of the detail would be added later during texturing.
Once the low and high-poly meshes were ready, I moved on to baking. This stage often required technical adjustments, such as fixing UVs, normals, or proportions, once again highlighting the non-linear nature of the workflow.
Substance 3D Designer and ZBrush
Before starting the main texturing phase, I created the brick material at the base of the lighthouse in Substance 3D Designer. Since these bricks are a key visual element, it was important for me to have full control over their appearance. It was also an opportunity to improve my skills with Substance 3D Designer, so I could use it more in my workflow.
Instead of creating them entirely procedurally, I chose to sculpt the bricks directly in ZBrush. This approach felt more intuitive and better suited to their organic nature. I then rendered the bricks and imported them into Substance 3D Designer, where I turned them into a tileable pattern.
This workflow allowed me to save time while keeping maximum flexibility. Simple adjustments could be handled directly in Designer, while larger changes could be made in ZBrush and quickly updated. I exposed key parameters such as brightness, contrast, hue, roughness, and normal intensity so I could adjust the material later in Substance 3D Painter.
Once the material was imported into Substance 3D Painter, it was time to refine the final details. This workflow exemplifies the value of mastering multiple tools in your pipeline: each software offers unique capabilities, providing alternatives for creating the same asset. In theory, the entire process could have been accomplished using just ZBrush, Designer, Painter, or even Photoshop.
However, experience has shown that certain tasks are more efficient when tackled with the right tool for the job. This flexibility not only optimizes my workflow but also enables me to quickly adapt and overcome challenges by seamlessly transitioning between different software.
Texturing
Texturing in Substance 3D Painter was one of my favorite stages, but also one of the most challenging. At first, my textures were too realistic. I added too much noise and too many details. Over time, I realized that simplifying and relying more on references was the key to achieving the stylized look I wanted. Feedback from other artists was crucial at this stage, even though sharing work in progress can be intimidating.
From a technical standpoint, the Blur Slope filter was one of my main tools. It helped create a painted look while maintaining variation and richness. Combined with Grunge and Dirt maps, it played a major role in the final result. Certain areas still require manual painting with specific brushes for finer control.
I paid close attention to layer organization, starting with base color to define the stylized look, then moving on to Roughness, Normals, and other maps. These secondary maps were essential to ground the stylization in reality.
To avoid surprises, I regularly imported textures into Unreal Engine to check their final rendering. The differences between Painter and Unreal can be significant, and frequent back-and-forth helped me maintain consistency.
Completing the Environment
Once the lighthouse was finished, I focused on the surrounding environment. In the reference image, the lighthouse is set on a wide stretch of water, which, for me, was central to the overall atmosphere. For the stylized water, I based my work on a great tutorial from the World of Level Design channel and then adapted it to my needs:
I used a single-layer water material with two laterally animated Normal Maps to simulate movement. I added parameters to control scattering, murkiness, absorption, tiling, and refraction.
For the birds in the background, I reused and modified a particle system from an existing Unreal project called Rural Australia. I adjusted their speed, size, and spawn rate, and replaced the texture with a fully white one to improve the stylized aspect. This small trick was enough to give the birds a better rendering remotely.
Lighting and Rendering
Lighting is, in my opinion, one of the most important elements in an environment. It directly impacts readability, mood, and how assets are perceived. Thanks to Lumen in Unreal Engine 5, I was able to establish a solid lighting base quickly. I started by disabling auto exposure to keep full control over the scene.
The main light is a Directional Light representing sunlight. I focused mainly on its temperature (around 5010K), intensity, and orientation to achieve a warm, natural feel. I then added a few subtle Point Lights to guide the viewer's eye, along with a Skylight to enrich shadow colors and improve overall cohesion.
The final step was post-processing. I adjusted bloom, sharpening, vignette, contrast, and color grading, while trying to remain subtle to preserve clarity. Screenshots were taken using Unreal Engine's High Resolution Screenshot tool. For the video, I exported image sequences in EXR format and assembled them using Shutter Encoder to ensure maximum quality.
Conclusion
The Old Lighthouse was a key project for me. It taught me a lot, both technically and mentally. I realized how important it is to improve my workflow, getting feedback early, using specific tutorials, and reusing existing systems so I could focus on the most important parts.
Artistically, it changed the way I approach stylization. I found that trying to copy every detail exactly can make the design feel too busy. By simplifying shapes, cutting back on unnecessary detail, and using bolder colors and textures, I was able to create a clearer and stronger result.
This project also reinforced the kind of work I want to keep exploring: creating stylized, easy-to-read environments where technique always supports the artistic vision.
I also want to give a big thanks to Matthieu Laude, Ged Loewenguth, Eloi Grivot-Brunhes, Ernest Lanoy, Clément Nougier, and Emile Van Den Berghe for taking the time to share their feedback. Their insights really helped me step back, refine my choices, and push the project further. Having their perspective was invaluable in keeping the work focused and improving the final result.
Also, I'd like to thank Gloria Levine and 80 Level for giving me this opportunity. Being able to share my work on such an incredible platform is a true privilege, and it's an invaluable resource for the 3D community. Thank you so much for reading. See you around!
